A New Life
by Chibi-neko-chan8
Summary: Percy and Annabeth died at age 18 after the HoH and choose rebirth. In their second life they dicover they're demigods. Forced into a quest with each other and a 9-year-old, how will they cope? No, I'm not going to add a wedding at the end so don't even ask. Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.
1. Prologue

There was no way he could believe it. None what so ever. Percy was the strongest demigod he knew. He even surived the Archilles' Heel's curse. Annabeth was the smartest demigod to ever step foot in Camp Half-Blood. They were almost unstoppable. Both survived the second Titan War, the Great Prophecy, the Giant War and saved the world countless times. It almost seemed impossible for them to die, yet there they are laid in their unknown coffins on a _minor_ mission. He couldn't wrap his mind around it as he stared at the amphitheater.

Tears ran down his cheeks. He should have been there with them in the cave. It was him who sent them down there.

"Nico, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do." He turned to see Hazel standing next to him staring at the burning shrouds, tears streaming down. She might as well have read his mind.

Nico just nodded dumbly not hearing what she said next. He didn't trust himself to say anything without his voice cracking. First he lost Bianica, and now he lost Percy and Annabeth, too. Percy was like the brother he never had. Annabeth was like Bianca, just a little scarier.

He focused on what was going on around him.

On the amphitheater there were two shrouds. One was a long, silk burial cloth the color green. Someone had embroidered a trident on it. Next to it was a simple but beautiful grey one embroidered with an olive tree in the front. Both were burning brilliantly. The night was clear, so no cloud broke the view of the beautiful stars.

He saw all the solemn faces reflected by the flames and then glanced at Hazel. There, in his head, an insane idea came to him. It was like something-a god or monster most likely, but what did he care-whispering to him. He brought Hazel back to life didn't he? _Yeah, _said the intelligent part of his brain, _only because she wasn't ment to die and that's not even including the fact that she's Pluto's daughter._

The rest of him didn't listen. It was too tempted to bring them back to life. It thought how wonderful it would be if he could. He would be the first one... Yes, and the only one...Soon the possibility overwhelmed him, silencing that tiny voice.

Nico didn't know he walking, much less moving, until his nose almost touched the door of a cabin- Percy's cabin. It was against the rules to go into a cabin unless it's yours or someone invited you in, but he hardly cared now. Besides, that mostly applied to opposite genders. He looked around him to see if anyone was watching and entered.

The cabin was as messy as he had last seen it. The bed was unmade and all of Percy's junk was on the floor. He scanned the room until it rested on a slightly open drawer. Something was awfully familiar about it. There was a folded piece of paper in it in Percy's handwriting.

As he read it, realization hit him like... like... something very hard. Percy and Annabeth knew they were going to die. How Percy gained that knowledge with that thick-headed skull of his was a mystery to him, but what he did know was he had to give this paper to them ASAP. Nico hurriedly shadow traveled to the Underworld.

When he arrived, he knew he was too late. He could _feel_ it. They had passed judgement and chose another life.

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**So how was it? Good? Bad? Ok? I don't know when I can update. I am usually busy every single day, but I'll try to make time.**

**~ _Sepharim_**


	2. Chapter 1

**ANNABETH'S POV**

I could see the turning water below me. The children of Athena never liked the water because Poseidon was our mother's rival. This was not any river though. This is the Lethe River, the river that could, and will, wipe our memories.

Percy squeezed my hand. "It's going to be OK. We'll see each other again." I gave a nervous, shaky smile. It was sometimes creepy that he always seemed to know what I was thinking. If he was anyone else, I would've smacked them on the head.

"Ready?" Percy gave a tiny nod. We both know there was a very little chance that we would ever see each other again. We could be reborn in different sides of the world for the gods' sake, but that was the risk we were going to have to take.

I knelt down, cupped my hands, and took a drink from the water. I could see Percy doing the same. Soon, the river's magic took effect. I could feel my memory being washed away until there was nothing left.

I turn and saw this random guy next to me. Then everything faded...

* * *

**13 YEARS LATER**

_Washington Jr. High - Los Angeles, CA_

This was the weirdest day _ever_, and I had more than my fair share of weirdness. It all started during first period in Mr. di Angelo's history class.

Anyways, Mr. di Angelo had a creepy substitute named Mr. Mormo. He was a tall man and wore a black, old-fashioned suit, boots, and sunglasses. Mr. Mormo might have been handsome if he was in't so pale that it looked transparent. He could even be paler that Mr. di Angelo and that was saying something.

"Let's begin class, shall we?" he said when the bell rang. His voice held a trace of a British accent. Throughout class, his voice changed constantly: It kept switching between the accent and a raspy one that made him sound like he literately had a frog in his throat. Once he smiled; there was two very sharp teeth where his canine should be. His eyes constantly flashed to me and someone sitting behind me.

One word flashed in my head like a bright neon light in a pitch black room: _vampire._ It was an impossible idea that our substitute was a vampire, right? I never believed in vampires, nor do I plan to, but I could feel all the blood slowly drain from my face until I probably resembled a ghost. This guy was not anyone's Edward. I looked around to see if anyone noticed anything odd about him. Everyone acted the same as if it was normal to have a vampire-like teacher. A few girls looked dreamy-eyed. Only Paul, a boy I ...dislike, looked sick.

There wasn't really anything wrong with Paul Jonston. He's just so dense, clumsy, and annoying, and he's also one of the strangest guys in the school. Now that I think about it, there wasn't a really any valid reason why I hated him. I just did.

After the period ended, Mr. Mormo ask to see me and Paul. When we came to the desk, he flashed us that horrifying smile at us.

"You have been naughty children. Very, very naughty," he happily said in that weird voice of his."Which one of you would like to go first? Don't be shy."

I bit my lip. "What do you mean?"

He glanced at me, then at Paul and laughed. "And you're supposed to be the smart one!" He laughed even harder. "Do you even know who I am?" He turned to Paul. " How about you?"

Paul though for a while (I know, when Paul thinks, it's the end of the world), and all I could do was hope that he wouldn't say anything stupid. "Are you a vampire?" I mentally slapped myself. That boy will say anything that will get us killed.

"No I'm not, boy!" he snapped and bared this teeth like an animal. "I'm Mormo, Hacate's companion- well, former companion. Can't you tell from my name? I bite bad children! And no matter how many times movies and Greek nurses think I'm female that still doesn't change my gender." He sat down on the teacher's chair, pouted like a child and muttered under his breath. Something about mortals. Apparently, he was very worked up about it.

I saw Paul back away to the door and apparently, so did Mormo. "The door's jammed. You can't get out. Even if you do, I could out run you. I've been alive for many centuries you know." My head was spinning trying to grasp at anything that would help us escape our crazy teacher. So far, my only option was to stall him and hope someone comes in. Maybe then he will get the metal help he needed.

After a few minutes Mormo stood up and glared at us. I finally noticed he took off his sunglasses. The red eyes made me shiver. "That's enough chit-chat. You are here to die. Your lives are too closely related to you past and therefore, you two need to be punished. I will prove to Hecate I am still a worthy partner."

Paul had to open his big mouth. "Why to you have to prove it to her?"

Mormo made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a hiss. Clearly, he was upset... again. "I bit one of her sons once. I couldn't help it; the child was terrible, but she disagrees. She hasn't forgiven me since."

His eyes hardened which I thought was impossible at the time. "This is all your fault, Chase."

'Chase'? I didn't know anyone named Chase. My name was Alena Coleman, but it seemed to hardly matter to him. I also don't remember meeting him at all.

He took something resembling a metal rod out of his pocket. It gleamed in the light blinding me for a minute. The next thing I knew he hurdled it at me striking me on the head. There was a loud crack. A wave of pain engulfed me, and my conscious slip away. The last thing I remembered was Paul screaming like a little girl and a very loud 'WOOF'.

* * *

**Definitely not my best work. Oh well. Review and comment!**

**_~Sepharim_**


	3. Chapter 2

**PAUL'S POV**

Mormo struck Alena with a small, shiny thingy. (_Great sense of vocab, Perce_.) Looking back, I think I screamed in a high, shrill voice like a little girl. I hoped she didn't hear that.

Suddenly there was a loud 'WOOF' and something big, hairy, black, and wet came out of nowhere and hurdled itself on Mr. Mormo. The fur-ball landed squarely on his chest. It looked like an oversized dog.

My hand brushed against something cool and hard tangled in her hair. I untangled it and examined it. It was a silver key with a fancy handle. This must be what Mormo hit Alena with. The key looked important, so I slipped it in my pocket.

While they wrestled, I sneaked past them and dragged Alena to the opposite side of the room where she hopefully wouldn't get trampled.

Even though there was a fight going on only about a few yards away, I couldn't help notice how _cute_ she looked when she's sleeping and not yelling her head off at me. Her face showed no sign of stress. This was probably the only time she was almost completely vulnerable. Alena would've easily become the most popular girl in the school if she showed this side more often instead of her 'battle-ready' expression. Usually she looked like she was going to kill me.

Mr. Mormo exploded into a pile of dust as the fur-ball knocked him against the desk hard. This woke me up from my daydream. Mormo guts were everywhere, and the dog wasn't helping by playing in it.

The black labador-like animal was about the size of a small horse and had a set of teeth that could ripe me in half with one bite. I knew it wouldn't hurt me, though; I didn't know any dog that size could look so adorable. I think I would name it Buddy for now.

It whined as it laid down beside Alena and nudged her. The labrador stared at me like I was supposed to do something. It took me a minute to resister what Buddy wanted. He wanted me to put Alena on his back.

I carried/dragged/rolled her on Buddy's muscular back. My arms ached by the time I was done. It was either I was out of shape or she needed to lose a few pounds, but seeing how thin she is, I think I was possibly the first one.

Buddy stood up after I climbed on. I had my two hands on both sides of Alena, who as in front of me, so that she wouldn't fall. He gave a huge back and ran towards the opposite wall.

I thought he would stop and turn back, but he just kept running. I started to panic and squeezed Buddy's neck and Alena. My eyes were shut tightly, and I braced myself for impact.

It never came.

All I felt was cold air rushing past. I couldn't breathe. Everything was pitch black. Nothing existed in this place. If we stayed here any longer I knew I would likely die from the lack of air and warmth.

Suddenly, we were in a room. Buddy yawned and collapsed, and we fell with him.

"Mrs. O'Leary!"

After I caught my breath, I looked up. There was Mr. di Angelo kneeling over Buddy and Alena. He checked her head and saw a nasty bump where Mormo hit her. He muttered something under his breath and carried her up stairs.

I got up and looked around. The room was extremely fancy yet cozy. Swords, bows, and knives hung from the walls, but they didn't look like they were for decoration. Each blade was sharp and ready to be used at a moment's notice. Statues stood on one side of the huge room against the wall. In between them was a fireplace about two feet wide with a black flame burning. In the middle of the room was a long, wooden table.

Buddy bounded over, tongue hanging out. He licked me until I was covered with dog drool. I barely heard the sharp steps of Mr. di Angelo against the tile floor.

"Mrs. O'Leary, heel!" he ordered half-heartedly.

The black Labrador gave me one last lick and headed toward Mr. di Angelo tail wagging. He petted Buddy.

"Who's Mrs. O'Leary?"

He offered me a knowing smile. "She's the hellhound that brought you here." He pointed to the dog next to him.

The first intelligent words that came out of my mouth was "He's a _girl?_"

Mr. di Angelo sighed. "Yes, Paul. She's a girl." He raised an eyebrow. "Unless you want to check for yourself."

My face most likely resembled an overripe tomato. "No thank you, Mr. di Angelo."

He made a disgusted face. "Don't call me that. It makes me sound old and I'm like what, 27 plus 70 years? Just call me Nico." Nico smiled and gestured toward the table. "Now, let's get down to business."

* * *

We sat down and he told me all about his world, the world of the Greek (and Roman) gods. He claimed that the Olympian gods are real, that I was a demigod, and how one of my parents, probably my dad since my mom is still alive, is an Olympian. At first I didn't believe him, but that was before he swore on some river that he was telling the truth and this blast of thunder appeared immediately out of nowhere.

I also clearly remembered there were no clouds in the sky this morning. That was enough to quickly change my mind. I wasn't ready to become a burnt Paul just yet.

He explained that Mormo was a monster, and monsters could easily be killed by a metal called celestial bronze. That was what all the weapons in the room were made of. He even gave me my own sword named Okeanosache.

Then the door bell rang. Nico jumped out of his seat and ran out of the room. He seemed to be in a hurry. Wondering who it was, I followed him.

He ran through a series of doors and hallways. I had to keep up just to not get lost. Going back was not an option anymore. Finally, we made it to the front door.

Nico opened the door, and standing in front of him was a tall, blond lady with grey eyes similar to Alena's. I've seen her only once; if I remembered correctly, she was Alena's mom.

"Hello Hailey."

I blinked in surprise. Nico knows Ms. Coleman?

She narrowed her eyes and pressed a knife to his throat. "Don't act like there's nothing wrong, Death Boy. I want to know where Alena is. If she has the slightest cut, I will personally send you to your daddy the hard way."

He backed up nervously and let her in. Ms. Coleman marched in and studied the room. I ducked behind a statue of a dude with a bunch of facial hair and a three-pointed spear. I think his name started with a 'p' or something. With any luck, she didn't spot me.

Nico led her upstairs, which had as many twists and turns as the floor below. Ms. Coleman looked back suddenly once, and I think she caught me following. She didn't say anything though and just walked on, heels clicking on the stone floor.

Finally, Nico stopped in front of a door. Just traveling from one side of the building to the other side is a workout by itself.

The door led to a bedroom painted gray with a window that almost covered a whole section of a wall. You could see the enormous backyard, stables, lake, and field. Alena laid in an extremely fancy bed. As soon as she saw us, she sat up.

Alena looked better than she was at school but a little shaken up. I couldn't get to see for very long because Ms. Coleman immediately tackled her in a hug.

Alena stared at her. "Mom."

Ms. Coleman started to fuss over her, but she pushed her away. She looked at us over her mom's shoulder just noticing we were there. "What are they doing here? Where are we? What was that thing?"

Her mom bit her lip. "Well, it's kinda hard to explain."

"Then try." Ms. Coleman nodded and closed the door after shooing Nico out of the room. Before she closed it, she glared at me hiding behind a giant vase like it was all my fault. I guess she didn't want to give Alena the "You-are-half-god-so-you-aren't-really-considered-human-but-at-least-you-have-some-sort-of cool-powers" talk.

Nico eyed the door for a while and left. I had a mental battle with myself whether to follow him back or to stay where I was. I lingered for too long, so when I finally made up my mind, Nico was long gone. I couldn't follow him back even if I wanted to.

I sat in the vase's shadow for who knows how long. Eventually, I couldn't take the boredom anymore, so I went to sleep.

The sound of someone slamming the door woke me up. I peeked and saw Ms. Coleman standing outside. She begged Alena to let her in. Apparently Alena kicked her out. After some time, she gave up and sulked away. I wondered what happened.

I tried to tippy toe as quietly as I could, which is not very quiet. Knocking softly on the door, I asked "Alena?"

There was no answer but her sniffles could be heard. This startled me. Alena never cries. Ever. For the short time I've known her, she had never shed a tear. She'd always held her head high and never showed any weakness.

Then she screamed, shrill and piercing to the ear. With a whoosh, she swiftly threw open the door and pulled me in front of her making me act like a shield. "Kill it kill it KILL IT!"

I took Okeanosache out ready for a thousand-ton dinosaur or something. Instead, I saw... nothing. I flashed Alena, who was still trembling behind me, a look. With a shaking hand she pointed to a corner near the door. There was a small spider web with a tiny spider. _That's_ what she's scared of?

Trying to keep a poker face, I brought my foot down to squish it, but it scurried away. A minute later we were doing some weird, freaky dance with me trying to kill it and the hairy thing escaping. It attempted to crawl towards Alena, but she just ran to the opposite side of the room. Finally, I tripped over a chair which landed on the spider, and that ended the dance.

"Thanks," she said barely audible. I smiled.

"No problem." A total lie in my part by the way. "So what happened with your mom?" I mentally slapped myself for saying that.

Alena scowled and didn't say anything, just sat on the bed deep in thought.

I got up to leave. She just needed some time to think.

* * *

**Just wondering, how old do you think I am based on my writing? **

**Thanks for reading! Review and comment!**

**_~ Sepharim_**


	4. Chapter 3

**PAUL'S POV**

_I didn't know where I was although it looked slightly familiar. It was raining, and there was a smashed car near me. A woman and a boy were dragging another boy away from the vehicle. The two guys didn't seem any older than 12 or 13. One had curly hair and I'm pretty sure my eyes were tricking me, no pants. His lower half didn't look human at all._

_The woman was about thirty or so. She yelled something at the other boy who screamed something back._

_I tried focusing on the other male, but there must be something wrong with the reception. Whenever I tried looking at him, the space around him would get fuzzy. All I know was that he had black hair._

_Then something lumbered towards the wrecked car. It was easily seven feet tall. The monster bulged with muscle and wore nothing except bright white underwear which might have looked hilarious if the upper half wasn't so scary. From waist down he, well I think it's a he, was human, but as you go up, coarse brown hair started growing thicker until you reached his furry head, completed with a snout as long as my arm, huge snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring hanging, cruel black eyes, and enormous black and white horns with points that could tear your flesh easily._

_I know that monster: it was the minotaur. _

_The guy with the black hair gaped at it. "That's-"_

_The woman nodded in agreement, and whispered in awe and horror, " Pasiphae's son. I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."_

_The scene fast-forwarded in a blur. The monster had the woman in his grasps holding her by the neck. _

_I had to help her. I may not know who she is or where I've met her, but she's important. I tried to move but can't. My arms glued to my sides and my head absolutely refusing to turn, I could only be a spectator forced to watch and only watch the woman vanish in a flash of golden light._

_My vision became blurry, but before my eyesight completely vanished, I saw the boy clearly for the first time. He looked exactly like... me._

* * *

I woke up sweating on my bed in Nico's guest room. The blankets were thrown on the ground and so were the pillows. I ran my hand through my hair. That was one freaky dream.

I picked up the blankets and pillows and threw them on the bed. My foot brushed against something freezing.

It was that key again, but I didn't remember taking it out of my pocket. I turned on the lights. The silver key gleamed in the light.

Something caught my eye. It was a mirror and I saw my reflection looking back at me, but for a second, it flickered and a boy about eighteen replaced him. Then he was gone.

Hurriedly, I got dressed and went down to the kitchen. It was a long trip going down humongous stairs, jogging through the hallways, sneaking past doors, and tripping over various objects. I had to get out of that room before I turn crazy.

When I got there, I immediately poured myself a glass of water forgetting to turn on the light switch. I needed to get away from all of these madness, monsters, and gods, and besides, water always made me feel better.

I heard some shuffling behind me. Without thinking, I turned around and tackled whoever it was. We fell down with a loud thump against the floor. Unfortunately for me, the person knew how to fight and twisted so that my face hit the ground. Then my attacker twisted my arm behind my back and sat on me pinning me down.

"That's no way to treat someone who's just going to get a late-night snack, is it Paul?" Her voice sounded soft and sweet but chance was against it that it was authentic.

Before thinking, I blurted out, "Annabeth?" I questioned my sanity. I didn't know anybody named Annabeth.

I felt guilty immediately; she stiffened and tightened her grip on my wrist which hurts like crazy if you were in my position.

"I'm _Alena_." All friendliness gone, she let me up and refused to look at me. She opened the fridge and the kitchen was brightened by the light allowing me to see better after my eyes adjusted.

Her blond hair was tied in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a sweater a few sizes too big which wasn't unusual since the weather was starting to get chilly. When she reached up to get something, though, her sleeves rolled back revealing lots of tiny, red, swollen bug bites. It covered most of the skin on her arm and some on her neck. Before I could ask her about it, they started to fade away.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I shook myself out of my train of thought to see Alena's piercing gray eyes observing me like one of her battle maps that Mr. di Angelo always gives us.

"Nothing." Did I ever mention that I was a horrible liar? Luckily, she didn't noticed.

We both sat down at the counter facing each other but not looking. There was an uncomfortable silence. I don't remember who broke it but we ended up laughing a having a good time talking about all of the crazy things we did when we were little. I think this was the first time we ever talked without Alena wanting to strangle me at the end. I might have mentioned something about her mom that killed the mood.

She stayed silent for a while. "Don't talk about her. She's not my mom."

"Oh. Sorry." I looked down at my hands. I don't really know what to say to her considering my lack of experience with girls.

Plus, I don't know what it felt like to live with a woman who you thought was your mom. My mom died when I was really little, and I was raised by my uncle and governess.

_My uncle._ I wondered how he would react if he knew I was a demigod.

Mr. Jonson wasn't home most of the time and regarded my mother as an outsider. He claims he only took me in because I might have some 'decent blood' in me whatever that meant. He also promised my grandmother that he'll take care of my mom and since she died, he had to take care of me.

Uncle Mark was also a very superstitious man. He refused to live in a neighborhood with black cats, wouldn't eat fish from the 'wrong' side, and never went against the wishes of people that passed away. He constantly checked over his shoulder like someone was trailing him.

Long story short, I was basically ignored for my entire life by my only living relative.

Somewhere in the house a grandfather clock chimed 12.

"I'm going back to bed. Nico said we'll go to camp tomorrow early in the morning," she said with a yawn. I nodded.

We both headed upstairs. Before she entered her room though, I grabbed her arm.

"Uh. Good night and um, make sure whatever bit you don't bite you again, OK?" It's official: I am horrible at talking to girls. I quickly walked away towards my room to prevent myself from even more embarrassment.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait! By the way, this story is going to be LONG! It's probably going to be more than at least 10 chapters. Don't say I didn't warn you. The ending of this chapter might sound a little iffy. I was never any good at summarizing anyway.**

**Bad? Good? Review! **

**_~Sepharim_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Alena's POV**

I woke up feeling different. My back ached, and every muscle in my body felt all tingly like someone took a plug and zapped me with it. Strangely, my clothes felt a little too tight, and my hair seemed much longer than last time. I shook my head and told myself not to be ridiculous. It was all in my head.

I quickly got ready. All of my clothes still fitted except the ones I slept in. Weird.

I made my way to the huge kitchen. It looked different in the morning than at night. Nico was making pancakes with Hailey (it'll take some time getting used to that) taking notes on how he did it with him explaining every move he did. Their backs were to me so they paid me absolutely no attention.

I could smell the delicious pancakes already. Nico finished most of them and was on his last one. Hailey giggled from time to time because of something Nico said.

My mouth hung open. The woman I knew and grew up with never giggled. Never. Then again, the woman I thought I knew doesn't lie to me about being my mother.

I quickly decided to spy on them for a little while so that I'll finally have some blackmail material for her but someone had other plans.

"'Morning Alena," Paul said cheerfully from behind. Way to ruin my fun.

Hailey and Nico whirled around startled; Nico accidentally flipped the bowl with the leftover pancake batter over with his elbow and it landed on his head. The batter covered his head and slowly dripped down. If he didn't look so much like an adult, he would've been easily mistaken as a child if you saw the look on his face.

Paul and I were practically on the floor laughing until our sides hurt. M- I mean- Hailey grabbed a towel and started wiping away all the batter she could off. Nico just stood there scowling which made it even worse. We managed to laugh our way to the kitchen table somehow.

After she sent Nico upstairs to change, she glared at us for a second but it quickly turned into surprise. She ran towards me and demanded that I standup. I was finally taller than her.

"You're growing! Oh my gosh, I feel so old now. You must have had your growth spurt overnight. Look at you! I think you gained at least a half an inch." She gushed it all out in just one breath with a smile on her face. I wondered if someone slipped some sugar into her drink early this morning or maybe this was how all _normal _grownups act like.

I kept a poker face throughout this whole episode. Hailey might have forgotten that she's not my mother, but I haven't. It was either she was to happy and hyper to care or just didn't notice. At least she didn't chew me off.

While she checked on Nico to see what was taking him so long, I thought about my situation.

Percy was staring out of the window lost in thought so I didn't have to pay any attention to him. I made it my goal to not show any emotions as normally as possible in front of him. Yesterday he caught me in an emotional period; it won't happen again. Wait- Percy? Ok, I'm definitely going crazy.

If I grew, then that explains why my pajamas were a bit too snug. But if I did grow, why did all of my other cloths fit? I groaned silently in my head; another headache was forming from thinking too hard. True, it wasn't that important, but I would drive myself crazy if I didn't find a reasonable explanation for it.

Nico and Hailey finally came down and interrupted my train of thought. As we ate breakfast, they told us about camp and what to expect.

"But how are we going to get there if you can't fly?" For once, Paul isn't being such an idiot. It was getting to be annoying.

Nico gave him a smile. "We're going to-" The doorbell interrupted. Apparently, his house didn't like him today. "Wonder who that could be," he muttered and went to open the door.

We heard some yelling and a -er, plump, dark-haired man stormed in, his left eye twitching violently. The guy was about six feet tall and seriously angry. If you look closely you might see a little steam coming out of his miniature ears.

Paul squirmed in his seat and slouched a little almost like he didn't want to be seen. The man pointed a chubby finger at him.

"You're coming with me, boy," he growled.

"_He's_ not going anywhere. Unfortunately, I can't say the same to you, Mark." Nico came in and crossed his arms glaring at him.

"Stay out of this Dead Breath. I'm his guardian and I say he's not going to that stupid camp of yours!" Mark the Lunatic stared down at Nico daring him to make a move.

"He needs to go. That's where he will be trained to survive! Most demigods won't live in the mortal world without training."

"Oh yeah? Then how come I'm here? Your camp didn't discover me until sixteen years ago. He doesn't need training from them." The newcomer's cheeks flamed bright pink, eyes narrowed, lips pursed, and fists clenched.

As they continued, Hailey dragged me and Paul out to the next room, her small hands squeezing my arm and by the look on Paul's face, his, too.

"How does he know I'm here, Ms. Coleman?"

Hailey shrugged and led us upstairs. "I don't know, but Nico and some of his friends found your uncle somehow and brought him here. He said he was claimed at a very young age by his godly father, but wouldn't tell anybody what cabin he belongs in. Won't even give a hint, that crazy man. Nico in all of his stupidity refuses to spill out on where your uncle came from or how they found him." She sent a glance at Paul which he ignored. "By the way, how old is your uncle?"

Paul shook his head. "Don't know. He usually keeps every personal information a secret. I don't even know his birthday or favorite color or where he works or-"

"Yeah, we get it," I interrupted. That kid was giving me a headache.

The clear sound of glass shattering interrupted the conversation, and shouting could be heard. Apparently, the men were on a rampage.

We uneasily changed the subject, talking about anything but the gods, monsters, or the situation we were in, wondering what the men were doing the kitchen. We stayed like this, ignoring the yelling in the next room, until both men entered, neither happy nor delighted, but at least they didn't have their hands around each other's necks.

"We're going to camp now," Nico announced halfheartedly.

"What about Jonston?" Hailey demanded.

Paul put his hands on his hips like a little girl and pouted. "What about me?"

She sighed. "I was talking about your uncle."

Paul relaxed. "Oh. That explains everything."

I rolled my eyes.

Mr. Jonston grumbled a bit. "I'm going with you lot. That git and I have talked it over already."

Nico glared at Mr. Jonston when he called him that but let it go. "I suggest you all get packed. Meet me here after five minutes."

We grumbled a bit about not getting to finish our pancakes but did what he ordered.

When we had all of our suitcases packed and ready, he led us all out in the garden.

I don't remember how that train got there, but it appeared right in front of us. It was the old-fashioned type of train-a steam locomotive I think it's called-with a steam engine and everything, and the metal, completely black, shone in the sunlight. It almost seemed like I could _see through train _and see the other side if I look closely enough. I couldn't see the tracks at all assuming there were tracks. A black, hazy smoke surrounded the bottom of the wheels.

The train hissed to a stop. The side of the cars had no windows whatsoever and had strange symbols written in golden letters.

A man jumped out and started walking toward us. His features were hidden by the steam escaping from the bottom of the train. As he came nearer I saw he had no flesh, no muscles, no hair. The conductor hat laid on his shining, bare skull, and I will be ready to bet you all of my allowance that the rest of him was just bones under the uniform. His face, forever frozen in that creepy smile, turned to Nico and bowed lowly to him.

"Guys, this is the conductor and host of our ride, Mr. Alexander White."

* * *

**_I'm so sorry for updating so late. Some of the characters might seem a bit OC since I based them on people I know. _**

**_Oh and I almost forgot to mention, I named him Paul because (a) Peter is over used, (b) I actually know a guy named Peter, (c) I like the name Paul better, and (d) I want to annoy one of my best friends. :D _**

**_Hope you enjoy! Review and comment!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	6. Chapter 5

**PAUL's POV**

"Guys, this is the conductor and host our ride, Mr. Alexander White." Nico looked quite cheerful when he said that, probably because the skeleton bowed to him, and frankly, I would be extremely happy if someone did that to me too. Now if only everyone called me lord and bowed every time they saw me...

The conductor straightened until his back was completely vertical and fixed his navy blue uniform. I saw the material fall limply onto his shoulders. Either this guy is super skinny or he was exactly what he looked liked: just bones and nothing more. "Sir, if I may, I suggest we start. If it gets any brighter, she," he gestured to the train, "won't make it." His voice sounded raspy.

"Oh yeah. I forgot you're weak during the day. Sorry Alex." Nico checked at his nonexistent watch. "Does anyone know the time?"

Mr. White reached into his coat and grabbed a golden chain watch with a gloved hand. "It's a quarter to ten."

'A quarter to ten, what was that supposed to mean?' I thought.

"It means 9:45, genius." Alena rolled her eyes. Why is it that girls always do that?

I stared at her like she's a lava-barfing dinosaur coming out of a cave to eat my head. Everyone was staring at her. Alena noticed and looked a little creeped out. "What? Is it a crime to answer a question?"

I just shook my head. So far, I've seen much stranger things than that, so it didn't bother me that much, but _how the heck did she know what I was thinking?_

White cleared his throat assuming he had one. "Should we go now, sir?" he rasped with a little hint of anxiety. Nico gave a little nod.

"Everyone signal line into the first car, please ladies and gentlemen!"

We did what the creepy skeleton asked with Hailey in front, Alena and me in behind her, and Uncle Mark right behind me. The door hissed and opened by itself. Mr. White helped each of us in the windowless, fancy metal box on wheels disguised as a train car. The closer I came to the black smoke swirling around the train the colder I became. While stepping on one of the steps, my foot gave way and I almost smashed my head on a metal bar before Mr. White caught my arm in his tight grip.

"Careful sonny. Don't go the way I did." He tried to smile at me but unfortunately for him, it is pretty hard with out muscles. I removed his hands from my arm as quickly as I could without seeming rude. They felt bony and dug into my skin.

After I went inside I heard Mr. White stop Uncle Mark for some reason but didn't pause to find out why.

Instead of being dark and gloomy like I thought it would be, the car's interior was actually bright but as fancy as a 19th century palace. Red velvet chairs were lined up from the front to the back, and chandeliers hung in rows along the length of the car. The only time I saw anything this elegant was when I went to that boring museum and blew it up. My uncle's irritated voice from behind startled me.

"If you don't mind, Paulus, move over so other people could go past."

Not want thing to get on his bad side _again_ I stepped backwards to the nearest row of bench seats as he harrumphed and marched on towards a seat in the back. Sighing, I plopped down, but unfortunately for me, it was unusually warm, lumpy, and could give a high-pitched scream.

"GET OFF OF ME YOU CHUM-CHUM-FATTY!"

**MARK JONSTON POV**

Just when I started to go up the steps, Mr. White put his bony arms in front of me, blocking my way. "I'm sorry sir, but I can't let you in with that revolver. Please hand it over."

I stared at him in shock. No one ever discovered my revolver until I had it trained towards their head or chest. I made a mental note to be on my guard around Mr. White.

"Over my dead body."

The lifeless conductor looked immensely pleased to do so until Nico spoke up.

"It's ok, Alex. Let him keep it." The skeleton grumbled a bit but removed his arm so I could enter. Unlike everyone else, White didn't help me on but hissed as I past.

'He would've been a good opponent. I could've taken him on with my many scores of training.' I thought to myself.

Inside, Paul stood in the middle of the walk way, and a man size couldn't get past.

"If you don't mind, Paulus, move over so other people could go past." He quickly moved aside in front of Alena who didn't even notice because of her intense concentration towards that thick book of hers.

As I made my way to the back seat, I heard a feminine shriek. "GET OFF OF ME YOU CHUM-CHUM-FATTY!"

I depressed the urge to smirk. The girl wouldn't make a bad daughter-in-law unlike some young ladies today. She has a mind of her own and doesn't chase boys. Good.

That got me thinking of my own wife, a charming and brilliant mortal woman with dark brown hair, warm green eyes, a smile that could warm up the Grinch. She would make us scarves in the winter, including the one I had in my trench coat which was from Father.

I fell into depression when Cilla was murdered in cold blood right before my eyes and pushed my son and his family away when they tried to help me. She had told me to keep an eye on the family, and once I have gotten past my sorrow, I did. My descendants didn't have the slightest clue who I really was, unless they laid on their deathbed with me right next to them.

Over time, I left England and followed the Jonston family to the United States of America. To avoid suspicion, I used a fake French accent I learned to do when I was in secondary school **(A/N: 6th grade to 10th grade)** and practiced the American accent and slang until I had perfected it. My name also changed several times throughout the years, but as the past drifted farther away, I decided it was safe to use my original surname, Jonston.

My cover was blown for the first time by Clair Jonston, Paul's mother and the first female Jonston to be born in decades. His godly father knew about me because we ran across each other a couple of times during my missions. She asked me to take care of Paul when she died and signed me as his godfather and uncle. I hired a demigod governess to teach him about the Greek world early in his life, and later, she acted as our housekeeper, his mother figure, and his protecter. I went on secret missions for my Father and stayed far away from Paul's life, afraid of being discovered, but that didn't stop me from checking in on him from time to time. Old habits die hard.

The whistle blew a shrill note, and the train lurched forward. From a previous experience with a son a Hades, I presume the train was starting to enter the shadows similar to how the children of Hades shadow travel.

I took my worn scarf that I bring everywhere and wrapped it around my neck and settled down for a nap. Alena and Paul's bickering upfront didn't help much though, but slowly, I dozed into a deep sleep. 'Yes,' I thought drowsily, ' she would make a wonderful great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter-in-law.'

I slept the whole way to New York.

* * *

**_I love writing in Jonston senior's POV and I don't know why. Oh well. How would you guys like the character(s)'s killings done: heroic, cold murder, accident, etc.? If you don't choose, then I will. REVIEW AND COMMENT! _**

**_~Sepharim_**


	7. Chapter 6

**I hope you like it. I've never been to New York before so it won't be that accurate. I tried though. I got the idea of the monster by a Sherlock Holmes movie I watched. ****_Review and comment!_**

**_Warning:_ There will be some bloodshed in this chapter. Why? Just wait; there's a method to my madness. In my opinion, though, it wasn't that bad.**

**_~Sepharim_**

* * *

**P****UAL'S POV**

The train ride finally screeched to a stop after a series of fights between me and Alena, Nico yelling at us to shut up several times, lunch, and a two-hour nap. This was definitely not my best traveling experience.

"Wake up Mark won't you?" Hailey ask from behind. I didn't even noticed she was there the whole ride.

"Sure." I walked to the back and there he was sleeping with that scarf around his neck again. Now that I think about it, I have never saw Uncle Mark sleep, eat, or watch television like a normal person.

I was going to shake him awake when he grumbled, "Ride's done already? Never liked bloody trains." He got up and walked to the front to talk to Hailey about something. I shook my head. He would never be normal.

New York welcomed us with tons of snow raining down on us that looked beautiful even if you couldn't see any farther than 4 yards. The skyscrapers seemed to reach up to the sky and surrounded us all around. I gazed around in awe. Los Angles hardly ever snowed so this was the first time I've ever seen snow in my life.

"Hey, where's Nico and the train?" Alena was right. Nico and the train were nowhere in sight. The spot where Nico stood just a minute ago was empty, and in place of the train, our luggage laid in neat piles.

"That cowardly son of Hades ditched us!" Hailey growled. I looked at her steaming next to Alena. Again, I noticed how much they looked alike. It's no wonder how Hailey kept her secret for so long. They would've been mistaken for twins twenty years apart for all anyone new.

"We'll have to go to camp ASAP before the snow makes it impossible."

In a few minutes, Hailey hailed two taxis like a pro, and my uncle dragged all of our backpacks, suitcases, and a trunk in the back. Alena rode with Uncle Mark and I with Hailey; Alena was still mad at me for saying she was the smartest blonde. That was a compliment wasn't it?

As the taxis rolled off the expressway, the city scenery was replaced by orchards, wineries, and fresh produce stands, the country side of northern Long Island **(A/N: Riordan. The Battle of the Labyrinth. 19.)**.

By the time Hailey told the driver to stop at Farm Road 3.141, it was dark outside, partly because of the cloak of snow, partly because of the season. I guess that was where Camp was, but I couldn't see anything but a hill and the green grass around us. It looked like the middle of nowhere to me, and apparently, the taxi driver too.

"Are you sure you want to get out here, miss?" he ask uncertainly as Hailey opened the door, letting in the strong, cold wind and snow. "There's nothing here but fields. Besides, there's a snow storm."

She looked at him quizzically. "You new?"

"Why yes I am. What of it?"

"Ah... That explains a lot."

Hailey paid both of the drivers and assured them that we were fine. Uncle Mark unloaded the bags from both cars, and we all helped him carry them up the hill.

It was a difficult job; the blinding, freezing wind blew against us, the luggage holding us back. Luckily, everyone wore a thick coat as insisted by Hailey. As we neared the crest of the hill, standing next to the tall pine tree, a tiny figure bundled in a thick coat could be seen. Some animal curled at the base of the tree.

Hailey whooped with joy. "There's Thalia's pine! And that guy must be one of the campers." Alena and I smiled, relieved that our adventure would be over for a while.

Uncle Mark had a different reaction. His head snapped up from its bent position when the he heard Hailey, and those wise blue eyes I've always recognized, suddenly turning cold and unwelcoming, contained something I've never seen in my uncle. Fear.

Knowing that, my stomach twisted, mind foggy. I barely registered Alena moving closer to me, almost touching.

"That's no camper," he snarled.

He swiftly drew his revolver out from a pocket of his coat, and we followed his example minus the taking-it-out-of-the-coat-pocket part: me with Okeanosache, Alena with a knife Hailey gave her, and Hailey holding her dagger. Everyone had their weapons ready pointing roughly at the figure's position. The snow blocked most of our view.

"How do you know? It could be one of the little kids or toddlers." Hailey's voice wavered.

"Trust me I know. Who would let a child in this weather?"

Alena and I stood obediently quiet, eyes fixed at the person and weapons handy. It was best to let them do all the work and thinking. With no training and being stuck in a blizzard on top of that, what choice did we have?

Slowly the person stumbled closer, hopping, tripping, limping, and everything in between. The monster tangled around the bottom of the pine, raised its head and produced a spout of bright of flames towards us, allowing us to see for a split second. The monster, a copper dragon, eyed the person.

The person, if you could it that, wasn't a child at all. Its dark, leathery skin, unfeeling black eyes, and smile showing crooked, yellow teeth gave it a cruel demeanor. Definitely not a kid. One hand gripped a curved stick with a string attached to both ends. The other reach for something behind its back.

"NO!"

In a flash, Uncle Mark pushed me aside. The arrow tip only grazed my left pinky but embedded itself into Uncle Mark so that only the wood could be seen sprouting from his favorite scarf.

"Paul!"

"Mark!"

My pinky burned like crazy and stiffened until I couldn't move it at all. It took all of my will power not to collapse on the ground. My uncle, on the other hand, quickly took a black cane from his trench coat but fell anyways. As I stared at him, all I could see was the arrow sticking out of where his neck should be. Hailey checked his temperature and dragged him around the creature to the other side of the hill.

"Follow me and try not to get killed."

Anger engulfed me, making me see nothing but red. I gripped my sword tighter and ignore my throbbing finger. A hand gripped mine and pulled toward Hailey's direction.

"Come on Paul." Her tone wasn't smug, irritated, or commanding. It was soft and pleading. I could have easily refused her, but something in her voice convinced me not to. I followed them through the snow, aware of the murderous creature eyeing us.

As we neared the other side, a shower of arrows flew past us, luckily not hitting any of us. I let all of my fury loose and ran towards it, almost letting out a crazy laugh. After all of my little time with my uncle, my temper was nearly as bad as his.

"Wait! Paul. You can't just rush into battle without a plan! It's suicidal. PAUL!" I scarcely heard Alena.

The creature smiled as I rushed to it. It drew a sword out too and held it pointed at me. 'Wipe that grin off you're face,' I thought.

He- well, I think it was a he- grinned even wider. Our blades clashed time and time again. Gradually, he pushed me back the way I came from, towards the road. Each chance he got, he attacked swiftly and without hast, and I could barely block each one. The fact that he was about three feet nor his ugliness up close didn't help at all.

He feinted at my left leg then promptly attacked my neck on the right side. There was no way I could block it in time. I braced myself for impact.

_Clang._

I glanced to my right. Two blades interlocked each other.

"I _told_ you. Miss me?" I could almost see the smirk on her face. I could never be happier to see anyone in my life.

"You take from behind, and I'll be in the front." She nodded.

We both took our stations. Even though this gave us an advantage, the _thing_ grabbed another sword from nowhere and began battling us with one hand each. It was like fighting two against two. Soon, Alena and I were both breathing madly and starting to tire out, and my left pinky slowed my down. The creature, on the other hand, didn't seem affected at all.

While he was looking at Alena, I took a desperate move. We couldn't really go on like this. Instead of stopping the blows, I charged in and covered my face with my bad hand.

The sword cut off my pinky. Blood sprayed everywhere. I grinded my teeth together to prevent myself from screaming. The hilt of Okeanosache smashed into the enemy's head, bringing him to the ground.

Immediately, my sword was at his throat. He looked at me with those cruel black eyes, daring me to proceed.

"What are you waiting for?! Stab him! He's just a monster."

Half of me wanted to do what she said, but the other half said it was wrong.

"Alena," I whispered, trying to convinced myself, "I think it's a little human."

"What are you talking about? Does that look like the face of a human who cares about anything? Besides, monsters don't die."

"You do it."

"Fine." She aimed her knife and threw it at his neck. Show off.

The monster gave a dry laugh and dodged just before the knife made contact. Laughing, he buried himself into the snow and sort of melted into it. He was gone. I knew that as we tried to retrieve him. Vanished, disappeared, escaped.

"Paul, what happened to your hand!"

The pinky was 'cleanly' cut off bone and all. Blood dripped slowly from the stump. Now that I have seen it, it stings even more. The funny thing is, I still feel like the finger was still there, sort of like a ghost of the pinky.

I tried moving the stump but that wasn't the best idea.

The snow steadily fell, no longer a storm. The dragon gave us a weird look. Alena bit her lower lip. Funny how you notice small details when you're in pain.

"We need to stop the bleeding."

I nodded and let her wrap a scarf around my hand. Then she led me over the hill. Lights sprinkle the dark and a fire was in the middle of all of it. We stumbled through the snow. Before I knew it, Alena was knocking on the door of a four-story house.

When the door opened, Alena led me in and sat me down on the couch. I collapsed, tired and fell asleep dreaming of that creature.

The silver key in my pants pocket turned suddenly icy to the touch, but by that time, I hardly cared.


	8. Chapter 7

**ALENA'S POV**

Paul collapsed on the couch and started snoring immediately. He looked kinda cute.

'Stop it Alena,' I scolded myself. 'Anyone with dirt everywhere, that much idiocy, and looks like a shaggy dog is a... a... Oh, never mind.' I looked at him again. 'But he doesn't deserves a backache in the morning; that's for sure.'

Gently I moved him into a more comfortable position. The bushy mustache man in the wheelchair that let us in gave him a blanket and poured a yellowish liquid down his throat.

"He'll be fine child." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Let's get you a room where you could stay for the night."

He led me to a guest room. As he closed the door gently after wishing me a good night, I plopped into the bed and entered a fitful rest.

When I woke up, not knowing where I was, I panicked. Then, all of the events of yesterday came back. The mansion, the train, Nico disappearing, traveling to Camp, the fight, Paul's chopped off finger... I was finally in Camp Half-Blood.

Downstairs, the same handicapped man wrapped fresh bandages around Paul's hand. Another boy about my age fed him the same yellowish liquid I saw yesterday.

"Good morning, Alena. You missed breakfast and lunch I'm afraid. Would you like something to eat?" I stared at him stunned, but reminded myself not to be rude.

"No thank you. How did you know my name?"

The man chuckled. "Your mother, Hailey, told me."

I pursed my lips. "She's not my mom."

He decided to ignore my last comment. "My name is Chiron. This is Jacob, son of Apollo and one of our best healers. He will be nursing Paul back to health." Jacob gave me a shy, little wave and turned his attention back to Paul.

"I'm the activities director and a centaur. Do you know what that is? Of course you do! You were raised by Hailey. Well, I guess you might not be so surprised." I stared that him questionably. What the heck was he talking about? I'm pretty sure a centaur is half horse and man, but Chiron seemed fully human to me.

Though, that was before he began to get up from the wheelchair, his upper half seeming to stretch while his legs stayed as they were. Then horse body and legs appeared, unfolding from the 'wheelchair'. How he fitted in there I may never know. He stood before me, head almost touching the ceiling, in his centaur form. The wheelchair acted like a box with wheels and his disabled 'legs' sat undisturbed and definitely on connected to him. It was kind of gross watching it really.

"Wow."

Jacob grinned. "Newbies always react this way when every he does that," he muttered.

"Now," he said as I walked and he trotted out to the front porch, "that boy with the black hair and grey eyes over there is Luke. LUKE, MY BOY!"

A cute boy about 10 jogged to us, and when I said cute, this time I meant the you-look-adorable-like-my-baby-brother kind of cute, not the I-want-to-date-you kind. Anyways, his messy hair most likely never heard of a comb before, and he had an athletic build of a swimmer. Somehow, he also made the grey eyes that somewhat reminded myself of me and black hair work.

"Yeah Chiron?" Now where have I heard that voice before?

"I want you to show Alena around. You'll be excused of all classes."

"Sure. Come on."

He showed me the volleyball courts, the major and minor gods' cabins, the stables, the canoe lake, arena, the armory, the forest, and the beach. As we strolled, people pointed, stared, and gave us quick glance as if they're trying not to look suspicious. I guess new campers are rare.

"Every demigod is assigned a specific cabin according to who their godly parent is. Right now, we don't know who your parent is so you'll have to stay in the Hermes cabin until you're claimed." He sensed that I was going to speak and said, "Don't worry. You'll know when you're claimed. It's usually a special moment, and everyone goes nuts."

The two of us kicked our feet in the sand every time we took a step. The bright setting sun on our backs gave me a heads up on who was behind us. I could never be too careful after last night. It was an old trick, but hey, it works.

"Just wondering, who's your godly parent?"

"I don't have a godly parent. My mom and dad are both demigods. Did you see the one cabin between the major and minor cabins? That's where my sister, all of the other mixed-bloods, and I stay."

He started talking about all the weird adventures his parents had gone through. His parents have gone everywhere, Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, Greece, Rome, and even Olympus a couple of times.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool." He turned around to give me a smile but then frowned. "Just wondering, how old are you?"

"Thirteen. Is something wrong with that?" I put my hands on my hips. I know I'm short (that's why Hailey was so happy), but that doesn't mean he had to rub it in.

"No," he said slowly, scrutinizing me from head to toe. "It's just that you look a lot older. If you ask me," (which I didn't), "you seem like approximately fifteen or sixteen."

"When I'm this short?" He snorted at my reply.

"Short? You're like a head taller than me, and I'm 4" 11'." I stared at him, surprised that I'm looking _down _at him. Just yesterday I was only five feet three.

A conch horn sounded, shaking me out of my bewilderment and making me jump. Luke chortled at my reaction, the conversation before forgotten.

"That means it's time for dinner. Hurry up. Chiron would want to introduced you to the rest of the half-bloods."

That was exactly what Chiron did in the mess 'hall'. Many murmured among themselves, showering her with nervous glances and stares. Under ordinary circumstances, I would've ignored them and went on with my life, but the way they pointed at me made me uneasy, like I'm an imposter of some sort.

In a table near the back Luke acted like everyone else as if seeing me with a new light and then avoided my gaze. A blond little girl about nine shook his arm violently, but he ignored her and continued eating. Frustrated, she turned to me and made a signal with her hands quickly that I somehow understood. _I'll talk to you later._

I gave the tiniest of nods. Seeing this, she started chatted with her friends like nothing happened.

Sensing my discomfort a little too late, Chiron hastily led me to the Hermes table where they half-heartedly welcomed me.

After the dinner, everyone went to the campfire but the girl pulled me aside. She expertly pulled me through the crowd and into a dark cave underground near the arena. The mouth of the cave was expertly hidden, almost impossible to spot unless you knew it was there beforehand. The nine-year-old pulled me deeper into the network of caves and tunnels, changing tunnels every so often. Once satisfied we weren't followed and deep enough, she suddenly faced me, nearly making me bump into her.

"Were where you from? How did you discover this place? And who is your godly parent?" she ask all in one breath. This girl didn't waste any energy with formalities does she?

"California. Hailey and Nico. And uh, I don't know," I admitted. Something about the blonde made me spill everything. She paled almost immediately.

"No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen," she muttered so quietly that I could barely hear her. "Did anything special occurred during your birthday?"

"None that I could remember." Gravel shuffled somewhere near the mouth of the cave. Instinctively, I grabbed my knife. The girl pushed me against the hard, cold walls, turning off her flashlight in the process.

"Keep quiet," she hissed.

Painfully slow moments of anxiety passed without another sound or any indication that someone besides us was here. The nine-year-old sighed in relief. "I think whoever it was is gone."

I was about to agree with her until I felt a hot breath near my neck. I gripped my knife even tighter all too aware of how easily the person could kill me.

"Alena? Are you ok? You look like my mom when she sees a spider." She shivered. "I hate them too but not as much as her..." Her eyes nearly bulged when she saw the person behind me.

Stuck in a dark cave alone with some creep and nobody knowing where we were, we were doomed for sure.

* * *

_**Hoped you liked it! Review! **_

_**~Sepharim**_


	9. Chapter 8

**SILENA'S POV **

I noticed someone behind Alena. He was a bit thin, but had some built and had his head right next to her neck. Alena gripped her knife with white knuckles, eyes wide. If she moved, the guy would know and he stood so close to her that he could easily attack. I was helpless to aid her.

What would Mom and Dad do? Mom would come up with a brilliant strategy, and Dad... well, he's random some times so, yeah. That left me with nothing seeing I had no strategy in mind, no randomness in me, and scared out of my wits.

"Are you two supposed to be here?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" A couple of rock dislodged themselves at the force of her voice. Quickly, I switched the flashlight back on. The harsh light showed Alena's formerly pale face turning deep scarlet red and a guy around fifteen standing behind her.

"Wait. You know him?" I sighed in relief. So it wasn't a monster.

"Met Paul Jonston, a first-class idiot." He showed no irritation to her comment. "Paul, met-," she stopped for a second. "I don't think you introduced yourself yet."

"Oh, right." Well this was embarrassing. "I'm Silena, the nine-year-old little sister of Luke."

"This is nice and all but could we please get out of this place?" Paul's irritated deep voice echoed throughout the complex, causing Alena and I to jump.

"When did it get so deep?" Alena muttered to herself as we made our way to the surface. Paul thankfully didn't hear that.

I compressed the urge to giggle senselessly. The Aphrodite girls were going to have a field day when they meet Pual. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

This guy seriously creep me out, but there was something familiar about him as I had my first clear image of him near the campfire later on. I didn't think anything of it; he looked fifteen and demigods were supposed to be claimed by the time they turn thirteen, so I've might have seen him at camp. He also could have a strong resemblance to his godly parent or one of his half-bothers and sisters even if he was one of those rare cases where they don't make it to camp until later on. What astonished me, though, was that Chiron introduced him as a thirteen-year-old and wouldn't tell anyone who his parent was. He sent Alena and Paul to the Hermes cabin and dismissed everyone to bed.

I rolled to my side and faced the wall, listening to the sound of Luke's snore beneath my bed as he dreamed of defeating the minotaur again. Closing my eyes, Paul's features embedded itself in my mind. His built, the bag eyes under those green orbs, the black messy hair, the way he held himself, and most of all, the missing pinky. He must have lost it getting here since the wound looked new. His left hand kept out of sight, buried in his pocket and only coming out when he tripped on someone's foot and had to stabilize himself.

Next to him was Alena, standing tall and proud. From what Luke told me and all I've learned about her during our little trip down in the tunnels, I would say she was the daughter of Athena just like my mom. Her startling grey eyes similar to his was a big pointer.

Luke groaned in his bed as if he knew I was sort of thinking about him, shaking me out of my thoughts, and fell asleep again. If I was going to do some serious pondering without Luke's snoring parade, I would have to get out of here. Slowly I climbed down and made sure he was still in la-la-land. Sure enough, he was. If he found out I sneaked out again, he would lose that temper of his, telling me I could have been killed and blah, blah, blah. He meant well I guess but so overprotective ever since Mom and Dad disappeared recently.

'No,' I thought to myself. 'I will not think about them.'

Sneaking around the other mixed-bloods was no problems; many of them were deep sleepers and/or scared of my wrath if I ever found out who told my brother. Being the second best fighter with the knife helped. The door swung silently and I carefully closed it shut. Finally, I was free.

I went to my mom's and my favorite thinking spot in camp that she revealed to me. It had a beautiful view of the ocean and stars. I gazed out to where the water and sky seemed to meet just like what Mom used to do. Whenever she did, the light in her eyes glazed over, deep in thought or in the past. A particular expression always crossed her face, a mixture of her loving look when she stared at my dad, a sad look, and her tired look. On many occasions, I asked her what was wrong, and every time I get the same frustrating answer.

_'It's nothing, honey. Everything's fine.'_

"Stop it, Silena. This is not the time for a trip to memory lane. It would be much less painful if you would just stop. Luke's doing fine. Why shouldn't you? They'll come back. They always do." I tried to reassured myself as I fought the tears.

I let my mind wander off to Paul and Alena. I feel like I should know them but I can't seem to put my finger on it. After around an hour judging from the position of the stars, I decided to head back and get some sleep before Luke wakes up and has a tantrum as always. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

_**Not one of my longer chapters. Sorry about that, but I really wanted to add this. **_

_**Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Don't forget to review! **_

_**~Sepharim**_


	10. Chapter 9

**ALENA'S POV**

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. Spring started to set in rapidly, sending all the naiads and Demeter kids in a frenzy trying to get ready for it. Unlike many of the other campers outside, I sat flanked by Paul, Rachel, Mr. Jonston, and Silena around the pin pong table with the cabin counselors, Chiron, and Mr. D discussing who was going on the quest and how it should be done. The once interesting debate between the two siblings lost its charm to me. Mr. D looked as bored as I was with the meeting, but fortunately for him, he had a magazine to keep himself occupied with. I began reviewing today's events wondering what had I done to deserve this.

The past months have improved I guess, unless you count Paul and I have freakishly growing until we looked around 18 or so. (Talk about a weird growth spurt.) Everyone finally excepted the fact that we have not been claimed yet, though, everybody seems uncomfortable about it.

The first day of training we failed at everything except canoeing for Paul and mathematics and architecture for me. Chiron along with every single demigod believed I am the daughter of Athena, but since she didn't claim me, I couldn't be officially called her child. The next day, we have completely transformed overnight. Paul became the best swordsman in camp and improved in many fields besides archery; he almost killed me and nearly shot the Hermes counselor in the bottom before Chiron took his bow and arrows away. I easily beat Silena with the knife. This started a sorts of rumors.

As time went on Paul began to become distant and serious. His eyes didn't seem to sparkle anymore. The one time I saw him actually enjoy himself at camp was when we had a water fight at the beach and he ended up covered in seaweed earning the nickname Seaweedbrain. Other then that one time, he rarely goof around. I know he was concerned about his uncle who fainted because of the poison tipped arrow, but did he have to take all of his anger on everyone else?

The tip barely cut Mark's skin but it was enough to make the man fall into a coma for months. Jacob said he would be alright and Hailey, who just recently to my pleasure, left saying she had to go back to work which I thought was a lie, took care of Mr. Jonston 24/7, only coming out to eat and sleeping as little as possible. . Still, he visits everyday and comes back crankier than before. I missed Seaweedbrain (and I'll deny everything you claim if word gets out).

"Alena! I hope you didn't forget about our bet." I groaned inwardly. Julie, one of my best friends, is the daughter of Aphrodite but doesn't really care much about fashion or clothes, is as smart as any child of Athena, and can play the violin and piano like a pro. The only indication that she's her mother's daughter is that she loves to be involved in other people's love life, dress people up, and do their hair and looks good in nearly everything. I was a fool to make that bet. She always knows how to get the best of me. This was the start of my eventful day.

"Can't we just forget it ever happened or the fact that I lost?" I gave her my best puppy eyes.

"Nope. You're not getting away that easily." Julie dragged me into the Aphrodite cabin and sat me down with me complaining the whole way. It took two hours, _two hours_, for her to pick out a dress and do my hair, but I won't let her put makeup on me. Of course I was going to make it difficult for her. Finally, she finished.

"Oh my gosh, Alena! You look so cute!" I sighed and looked in the mirror. I've got to admit, Julie did a good job and at the same time, make me still look like me.

"Yeah, I do. Can I go now?"

"Sure. If you want to go out in those clothes, be my guest. If not, I would suggest you stay here."

"But _Julie._"

"Take it or leave it." I pouted. Never again will I make the same mistake as I did today.

"What do you think about this one?" she asked giving it a critical look. I gave a loud groan and slouched down in my chair as if I was trying not to be seen. Someone please help me. Anybody.

As if on cue, a child of Hecate, Alex, entered without a single knock. "Er, excuse me but Rachel needs Alena for a sec. She said to meet her at her cave and to come quickly."

"YOU CAN'T JUST UNLOCK DOORS LIKE THAT WITHOUT KNOCKING! GET OUT!" He ducked out of the room and slammed the door in time to avoid the shoe Julie threw at him. When she stopped fuming, I have her a pointed look.

"Fine. Get dressed before I change my mind. You owe me." Technically, I owed Alex for barging in and saving me from more torture but Julie stormed out with a 'harrumph' before I could tell her that. I guess she saved me from getting into muddier waters.

I bumped literally into Paul who was taking Mark to Rachel, too. Paul's bag eyes told me that he hasn't gotten enough sleep lately. He held his uncle securely by the arm, helping him up to the top of the hill.

Mark now walked with a black silver tipped cane clutched tightly in his left hand and looked several years older than the first time I met him. He scrutinized me for a moment then trudged on dragging Paul along with him.

We walked to the top of the hill in awkward silence, and Paul refusing to even acknowledge my present didn't help one bit.

I have never been to Rachel's cave in the months I have been in camp, and it intimidated me the moment I laid eyes on it. The bones and rusty weapons littering the ground crunched and groaned under our feet when on of us accidentally stepped on one. Deep purple velvet curtains embroiled with golden snakes covered the opening. Two torches stood on either side.

Despite mine and Paul's protests, Mr. Jonston waltzed inside. We were forced to follow him.

Inside, you would have never recognized it as a cave. An arcade room stood tot he right and the hallway led to a living room filled with painting, after painting, after painting.

"Rachel. Rachel! RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE!" Mark received no reply. Was that a British accent I hear?

The temperature suddenly changed dramatically, especially behind me, dropping steeply from its previously comfortable degree to an icy breath in the beginning of spring. I had a bad feeling about this. As always of course, I was right.

Since I really didn't want to know what exactly was behind me, I grabbed the nearest human being's, Paul's, arm. He turned irritated at first with the sudden contact, then in shock. He just stood there with his mouth imitating a fish's being absolutely of no help to me. Mr. Jonston was sitting at the other side of the room and I couldn't contact him without alerting whoever or whatever put Paul in shock. Why does this always happen to me?

Finally, my curiosity got the better of me. Curiosity didn't kill the cat; it merely stunned her.

Standing now in front of me was none other than Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She sent chills down my spine. Green mist poured out of her open mouth coiling on the floor and around my shoulders and neck, and her eyes were the matching green. I stumbled backwards bringing Paul with me. This got Mr. Jonston's attention.

I think one of the snake-like green mist entered my ear and by the looks of it, Paul's too. For a moment, I knew every little thing that entered his head, what his childhood was like, and his greatest fears, and probably he could do the same for me. I felt him poke around a little too close to a very guarded secret of mine so naturally I poked him back mentally, hard. For a time, it was kind of fun.

Our focus turned elsewhere when the voice that was already in our minds spoke. _I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask._

I considered saying something along the lines of, sorry, maybe you mistaken me for someone else, and just run for it and felt Paul's want to attack Rachel, but I held both of us at bay. Maybe it was some kind of freaky test. I highly doubt it but then again, I didn't want to attack Rachel.

"W- what am I suppose to do?"

Rachel (or is it the spirit of Delphi) crackled then started hissing, growling, and making strange noises in the back of her throat. It sounded like rhymes and I could understand some of the Greek words she said in between. Something about a cave and the past.

Once the voice was done speaking, the mist combined into a gigantic green snake made of mist and slithered back where it came from, Rachel's mouth. She began to sway dangerously when Mark caught her and set her down on a couch. Paul and I just stared, trying to processed what exactly just happened.

"Did I say anything?"

"You just said another prophecy in the dead's language. Nothing to worry about." Mr. Jonston shook slightly but made his voice calm. He seemed like his old self now, not that old man I met earlier. "Alena, Paul, help me bring her to the infirmary."

Chiron called for a meeting. We were forced to come and Silena blackmailed her way in. That pretty much sums it up of how I got here, but I still didn't know what I did to deserve it.

Most of the other people attending weren't paying attention anymore and slept, talked(/texted), etc. Three straight hours of debate was enough. Silena and Luke, on the other hand, were engaged in a sibling war.

"I want to go! Mom fought monsters when she was only seven and had no experience at all. I've been in camp for two years already!"

"Yeah, but she's _Mom_."

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes it does! You'll get yourself killed out there!"

"STOP IT!" The two turned to me alarmed. "How about if it was just me and Paul, ok? Just quit it!"

Slowly Luke nodded, happy that he had won. "Fine." That settled it. Paul and I were going to go on a quest to get rid of the monster that we met at the base of camp starting in the morning. Just me and the Seaweedbrain. Great. What had I gotten myself into?

Everyone scrambled to the door, eager to get away. Mr. D 'poofed' himself out of the room.

Later on, I learned every human beings who attended the meeting had a fitful rest. I was no exception.

* * *

_Dream:_

_I found myself standing upright in a dimly lit room, probably a hotel room by the size and the way it was furnished. A couple sat on the couch while a girl about my age rested on another. All of their faces were blurred._

_"So just Paul and Alena are going, right?" The man sounded a bit uneasy._

_"Yes, sir. She gave a good fight to go but Alena and her brother stopped her." The girl's hands fidgeted on her lap. So they were talking about the meeting, and the girl was the informer._

_I wanted to have a better look at her but if all of what I have heard about demigod dreams were true, than I couldn't even blink._

_"Good. You should go back to camp before someone notices you." The girl left without rather quickly another word obviously not wanting to be caught._

_He turned to who I had presumed was his wife. "Well you have been quiet lately. What's on you mind, sweetie?"_

_"Do you really think they will end up in California?" She faced the general direction of the man but I had a feeling she was talking to me. _

_"Of course I do! Since when was the boss wrong?"_

_"Too many times," she mumbled._

_"What was that?"_

_"Nothing." She gave him a sweet smile, got up, and left. _

_"Now that Julie's gone, we can finally go to sleep." He walked toward me and shuffled through some papers on the table I stood right behind of._

_Julie. Julie? Julie, the daughter of Aphrodite?! Or is it some other Julie? No, she's the only Julie at camp. I couldn't believe it that my best friend was a traitor, but my cautious side told me I better keep my distance from her only until I start my quest just in case. Will I feel guilty? Sure, but right now, I would rather be safe than sorry._

_The dream started to fade away and I could finally see their- well, only his acutely since everyone else left- face(s) clearly for the first time. The most random thought crossed my mind:_

_He's not bad looking._

_I must be dreaming._

* * *

**_So how was it? Review!_**

**_Also, I probably will not post any more chapters for a while. I have a midterm to study for and tests everywhere I turn. Wish me luck. After that, I have a HUGE project due. Sorry._**

**_~Sepharim_**


	11. Chapter 10

**PAUL'S POV**

Waking up early in the morning? Not one of my strong points. By the time the sleepiness wore away after Uncle Mark woke me up, everyone in the Hermes cabin left for breakfast. Very considerate of them.

So there I was, running to the Big House because I was late, my uncle's rifle that he gave to me fully stocked with celestial bronze bullets felt heavy in my already filled backpack. In my right pocket was the silver key.

I saw Julie, Alena's best friend, wide-eyed and nervous, heading in the opposite direction. As soon as she saw me she rushed to the mess hall immediately. Of course, me being the Paul I was back then, I paid no attention to it and had no suspicions.

In front of the four-story building stood Alena and Argus. Alena gave me an irritated look and stalked off to Argus's car at the base of the hill. Five of Argus's eyes blinked at me with sympathy.

The drive through the countryside on the highway didn't feel real at all. After months at camp, the mortal world seemed like a mythical world that just happened to exist and I had just leaped from one to another. I wonder if this was what the mortal's perspective of Greek myths. Alena stayed silent the whole way and didn't even spare a glance at me. I wonder what was her problem.

Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I turned to Alena.

"You have a plan?" I finally noticed that we (well, at least me) have almost absolutely no idea of how to get the monster who stole my pinky or how we were going to find it. I thought I would him Mr. Pinky-Stealer since I didn't know its official name and couldn't ask Alena.

"You mean you don't?"

"No, it's not that... I just wondered if you have one." I was saved by a certain nine-year-old blonde. She had her hair tied up in a messy ponytail and a backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Alena, Paul! I didn't know you would be here." Alena raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you promise your brother you weren't going to go?"

"Nope." Wow. Smart kid. It was either that or she was a very experienced liar.

Alena studied her closely. "If we let you come with us, will you take all of the blame and tell Luke that?"

"Yup!" She looked at the older girl hopefully.

"Ok. You can come."

"Wait a minute, don't I get to decide?" How in the world did they forget me? Me? The most important member of this quest? (Don't tell her I said that.)

"Oh. So you don't want her to go?"

"I do but-"

"So what's your problem?" I didn't like that look on her face.

As I glared at her, a movement caught my eye. A bent figure wrapped in bundles of dark coats hobbles towards us just behind Alena about two blocks away. Normally, this wasn't unusual in New York during the beginning of the end of winter, but the temperature today made the North and South Poles look like a paradise. In other words, it was hot. (How did I know what the weather was like in New York when had I never stepped foot in it? Ok, off topic.) Plus, he didn't look like a regular New Yorker. He stood out of all of the other people around him. I met him before- I knew I had... somewhere...

I nudged Silena who was standing next to me. She glanced at me quizzically, then followed my gaze and noticed the person behind Alena. Her grey eyes widened slightly.

Alena, on the other hand, didn't notice a thing. She might have thought I was staring at her, though, (which I sort of was since the stalker was right behind her and she was in my line of vision) because she just gave me her deluxe-glare.

"What the heck are you staring at?"

Silena grabbed both of our arms in each hand and dragged us in the opposite direction through the crowd before we could even protest. Soon, we lost sight of him. Silena kept going, though.

I don't remember how we wounded up near the sea but we did. The steep, rocky cliff we were standing next to, only separated by a low, wooden fence, was slippery, wet, and sharp. One step out of place would have sent us to our deaths with a broken neck or lungs filled with water.

A few pedestrians passed gave us odd looks. The girls' hair was tangled and windswept, and I'm pretty sure mine was no better.

Silena scanned the rocky coastline until she found what she was looking for.

"Do you guys see those two huge rocks leaning against each other near the base? We need to get down there." Immediately, she had done just that, hopping the fence and started climbing down skillfully.

"Hey, little girl! You'll be killed down there! Come back!" People rushed over to where we were to take a look at Silena and convince her to come back before she was killed.

Alena and I had no choice to follow her example. Among the crowd was the midget guy again. Plus, Luke would kill us both for not 'taking care' of his little sister.

Note to self: never allow a 9-year-old girl to join a quest. Ever.

Both of us took the exact route Silena took ignoring the exclaims from our peers and earned numerous scratches for our pains. Oh goodie, Uncle Mark's language was rubbing off on me.

Silena waited for us at the spot. The sea water lapped comfortingly at our feet soaking our shoes and socks, but I didn't really mind. I tilted my head to see our hunched-over friend looking down at us.

I felt a push from behind and started to fall towards the rocks. Instinctively, I curled into a ball and braced myself for impact. It never came.

Instead, I fell face first on a freezing ground soaked with sea water. The dirt could almost be considered mud. Along the walls were torches with blue flames lighting the dripping tunnel as far as the eye could see. My groan echoed back.

Unfortunately for me, Alena decided to drop in… on my back. Seriously, for a girl in that physical condition, she shouldn't have weight that much. Then again, muscle weighed more that fat-I think. I also think she broke my spine.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know. Silena pushed me and you were in the way."

"Will you two keep quiet? You'll get us all killed!" Silena took a torch from nearby and held it up. "We'll be safe here from the monster but this place its own monsters."

Alena and I helped ourselves up and scraped as much dirt and mud off as we could trying to contain our embarrassment.

"Are you sure that's safe to touch?" Alena wondered.

"Perfectly." The mixed-blood's reply was short. "Come on. I want to get out of here." She marched deeper into the tunnel without another word. We older and less informed demigods trudged behind reluctantly.

"Just wondering, how did you know about this place?" Alena, Miss I-have-to-know-everything, asked.

Silena hesitated resulted with me bumping into her and falling on my bottom in the damp ground. Alena nearly tripped over me. "A friend showed me it." She refused to look at us and just stared ahead.

"Who was your 'friend'?" I don't care if she was the child of some famous hero or whatever. This was _my_ quest, and I didn't like the way she was keeping us in the dark.

"A child of Poseidon."

"What-" I never got to finish my sentence.

"Why do you care?" Her voice rose several notches. "Just be happy you didn't lose another finger," she snarled. The echoes repeated her.

I stuffed my hands into my pocket. The way people stared at my no longer existing digit infuriated me. The way people talked about it like it was the most horrid thing made me see white. Luckily for her, I managed to keep my temper in check.

"And thanks to both of you, my parents disappeared!" By now, she was breathing heavily, trying to control herself. Alena's face could have given an evil, extra-ripe tomato a run for its money when she was accused. I was shaking like crazy. Nobody moved.

Soon, Silena calmed down. "Sorry guys. I didn't know what I was talking about." She stared at the path ahead. "I'll scout ahead."

Alena opened her mouth but Silena interrupted her. "I know the place better so I should go. You guys stay here." Silena gave me the torch and went ahead. "If I don't come back in one hour than send a search party."

After she was out of sight we found a dry spot on the ground and sat waiting for her. An awkward silence hung over our heads. Finally Alena broke it.

"You know, you should be happy the monster cut your finger." She paused but didn't hear a reply from me. "Jacob, the guy that took care of you, told me that the arrow the monster shot you with had some type of poison on it. It stiffens all of your muscles so that no blood could go through. If it spread, you would have died."

My arm getting tired, I handed the torch to Alena and took my left hand out. It didn't look like it was ripped off but like I was born that way. The smooth skin over it made it almost impossible to think a pink ever stood at the end of my hand, but I didn't want to talk about it.

"Do you know what this is?" I took out the silver key. It reflected the soft blue light.

She examined it in her delicately like it was about to brake. "A key."

"Yeah. I found it when-"

"When Mormo hit me with it. I know."

I blinked once. Twice. Three times. "Er. Ok, how?"

Alena rolled her eyes. "Rachel's prophecy, remember? I practically heard your every thought."

My face heated up. I hope she didn't see anything embarrassing. It was bad enough someone knew what I was thinking, but a girl, the opposite gender? Hit me right now. Then again, I saw some of her 'embarrassing' moments. Getting a B+ on a test while still having the highest test score? Seriously? What I _really_ didn't want to know was all of her 'boy' problems…

"Those thoughts were private!" I hissed.

"I wasn't like I had any other choice." Her face, again, turned thirty shades of red and pink. "Besides," she said with a mischievous grin, "I got some black-mail material out of it."

I opened my mouth to say something but my words were drowned out.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Silena!" We both jumped to our feet and dashed toward the direction it came from slipping several times. We passed some forks in the road but somehow we knew which way to go. Finally, Alena and I found Silena frozen (not literally) in front of a dead end.

Alena gasped. I just stared.

Leaning against the wall were two fully clothed skeletons side by side.

"We're doomed."

* * *

**_Finally! It took forever to write this. Sorry for the wait. I hoped you liked it. This chapter is what- 1,980 words? O.O _**

**_Review and comment!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	12. Chapter 11

**Alena's POV**

Silena leaned against me and buried her head, shivering violently and refused to look at the skeletons. I comforted her the best I could and stroked her wet blond hair.

The sight of the two made my stomach turn. Both had no meat on their grey bones what-so-ever. The people who write about creepy white bones scaring them half to death probably never saw a real skeleton. To me, this was the worst it could get. Clutching in one of the corpse's right hand was a gleaming bronze knife, Greek made. These two were demigods and, possibly, from Camp Half-blood.

When I agreed to go on this quest, I didn't think it would be this bad, and it was only the first day.

Paul crept closer to the cadavers with his sword and poked them. In the next instant they had both crumbled to dust. He quickly stepped back and raised his hands in a surrender sign.

"I didn't do it."

I glared at him, signaling him to shut up and motioned toward the emotional Silena.

_"Puwt yur 'ands yup!On't mov ur we strike en ze 'ame of ze fing. Zeses will kill you en ey seciond!*" _

All three of us froze and thought the same thing. 'They're going to kill us like they did to the two demigods.' Ok, maybe not in complete sentences like that, but you get the idea.

Numerous feet hit the ground heading towards us, splashes from time to time and getting closer each second.

When the soldiers arrived we were ready with our weapons drawn. They were about a dozen of them in dark blue uniforms each with a long sword with a green blade pointing it at us. I considered our situation.

To start with, three trainees against twelve more or less fully grown soldiers didn't exactly raise my spirits. And on top of that, one of us was only a kid, and the enemy probably knew the place better than we did. No, we couldn't fight our way out of this. We'll have to find another way out of this.

Both sides glared suspiciously at the other for a moment. No one moved. Then, I lowered my knife slowly. I threw it in a mud puddle towards the squad. Like I said, we had to find another way out. Trying to gain their trust was another way. Besides, I had a smaller one hidden in my backpack and there was the bronze dagger on the ground behind me.

The man with the golden stripe across his chest, the captain I think, gave a cruel smile. "_Yur friend es smurt_." He tossed his sword cockily from hand to hand.

He made a short signal with his hand and the men came at us. I quickly grabbed my hidden knife out of its hiding place. The fight was quickly ended with green blades pointed at our throats. Our backs touched the damp dirt wall. All three of our weapons were thrown on the damp dirt and broken into two with a swift stomp from one of the more heavyset men. A loud sickening crack echoed back.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Suddenly, the whole group transformed from an intimating, cocky squad of soldiers into a bunch of squabbling ducks in fancy uniforms. They made sure they didn't get in the way of a girl in a brilliant green flowing robe, though. She looked about 15 or so.

The captain stuttered a few words in a foreign language but the girl cut him off and turned to us. The captain fell obediently silent but not without a glare at us. The men finally got themselves lined up in two neat rows along the walls of our only escape, the way we came from. The blue torches shone on their faces ominously.

I gave her a quick overview. Her dark hair almost looked blue in the torchlight and her pale skin, from the lack of sunlight maybe, made her look like a ghost dressed in a fancy silk, green robe. She swayed slightly from side to side and clenched and unclenched her right hand. She was not someone I would trust with my life, but then again, I might have been a bit prejudice. Still, I would rather be safe than sorry.

The richly dressed girl scrutinized us with interest, especially Paul and Silena.

"Sorry about that. My name is Vertibulitlsies, great-niece of Cinroch, but you American probably can't say it so you can call me Vertiline. Not many of us speak fluent English and those who do have a thick accent. These men are supposed to be a scout squad, not an attacking one asking for trouble." With that, she gave a pointed glare at the captain. "We'll pay for the damage of your weapons. In the meantime, you could stay with us. There's a city up ahead ran by my great-uncle." She sounded like a typical American teenager with a machine gun for a mouth but much more formal.

"What happen to those two over there?" Silena timidly asked as she gestured toward the pile of dust behind us.

Vertiline walked over to get a closer look, lifting her robe up so it didn't track in the mud. "Oh, those. They were there for 15 years or so. People say they died because one of them was the son of our worst enemy and the other could be a spy. We were at war with them two years before that. They say my great-uncle killed them on the spot." My eyes widen a bit. We were going to stay at a murder's house.

When she saw my reaction she laughed. "Don't worry. It's only an old maid's tale. When they were first found, it looked like they've been there for ages. Besides, my great-uncle isn't _that _bad."

She looked at the pile of dirt and all of the stuff the skeletons left behind. "You know what? It'll be a waste of supplies if we leave these here. Captain Herkut, please bring the weapons and knapsacks to my room when we get to the city."

Silena's jaw hung open. Luckily for her, there were no flies underground.

"You're just going to take those from them?" Paul demanded. She giggled again.

"They won't need them. You will never know when you might need them." She looked directly at me. The men grabbed the knife, backpacks and all of its contents, and a ballpoint pen.

Paul opened his mouth to say something until I kicked him on the shin which sent him cussing in Ancient Greek quietly under his breath. That earned him another kick. No one heard or saw the anything.

Two guards led the way. Right behind them was Vertiline who was talking enthusiastically with Paul and Silena. I wasn't invited in the conversation. Next was me, then Captain Herkut , and then the rest of the soldiers.

The captain kept an extremely close eye on me. His nose flared slightly and his dark blue eyes narrowed every time I looked back. As the tunnel became wetter and narrower, he made sure that his bulky built prevented any attempts to escape. His message was clear: I don't care if she likes you; you're still my prisoner.

I stared forward. Vertiline and Paul were still talking and Silena was huddling close to Paul. They seemed to have absolutely no idea what was happening, and Vertiline was getting a little too close to Seaweed Brain for my liking. This was almost as bad as the trip back to the Underworld...

…Wait. Trip _back_ to the _Underworld?_

"Move along!" The captain gave me a rough shove from behind sending me straight towards Paul's back.

"Oof." We both tumbled down. Paul rubbed his neck after we got up. We were, again, covered with dirt. "What was that for?"

"Ask _him_." I jerked my thumb towards the General. He gave a mock bow.

"I am _so_ terribly sorry, miss. It won't happen again." Herkut showed his repugnant yellow teeth.

"You better," Vertiline warned. Herkut hissed a little behind her back.

The party started again down the tunnel. By now, my feet starting aching and the blue torches along the walls stopped so all the light we had was the four lanterns the guards brought and our torch. There was barely enough room for two people to stand side-by-side.

Soon, the dirt ground turned to mud. Every time one of us took a step our shoes would make a sloshing sound. From time to time some mud and water would get into my shoe making it very uncomfortable to wear. Vertline, Herkut, and his men all wore boots.

To distract myself from my shoes, aching feet, and Herkut, I decided to listen to Vertiline and Paul's conversation to see if the idiot says something stupid. Usually I could rely on Silena for that, but right now she was in her own la-la land.

I know what you're thinking, 'Alena, it's not nice to eavesdrop,' but I didn't trust that girl (or Paul to not say something stupid). There's something about her that makes me uneasy… Besides, eavesdropping is such a strong word. I rather call it… being attentive.

"So what are you three doing here?"

"Oh, Silena said this was the only safe place the monster wouldn't go." I did a mental face palm. Was he so thickheaded that he would just say confined information like that to a complete stranger? I would hit him on the head right now if Silena wasn't in the way.

"What monster?"

"The one that poisoned my uncle. The camp seems anxious to get rid of it." I wondered why he didn't mention his finger. He seemed at eased talking with her and didn't mind running his mouth.

"Camp?" Her voice dropped down to a whisper. I had to strain my ears to hear her next words. "You're from Camp Half-blood? What did the prophecy say?"

Paul shrugged. "I don't know. Alena and I both heard it and all we could make out was a bunch of hissing and a couple of words in Ancient Greek."

'Ask how she knew about camp, you twit!' I chanted in my head.

'Alright, alright. Sheesh. You need to calm down. No need to call me names.' My eyes widened and my pace flattered. Great, Dumb-dumb and I were connected again.

'How long were you listening? Those thoughts were private!'

'Long enough to give me a headache. And Vertline's not that bad.'

'Yeah right. I could think of a million reasons why!' But my response fell on deaf ears (or mind. Mind works too.) The Seaweed Brain decided to ignore me and continued his conversation.

"You know camp?"

"Yeah. It's a legend around here." Interesting.

Then the exchange became boring when she stared talking about her time in her uncle's city, Aluterus, and how much she loves going there and about her family and all of the gossip.

The aching in my thighs burned until I had to focus to put one foot in front of the other. My feet sluggishly moved on the now rocky floor. Everyone besides me was doing fine. Even Silena didn't look that tired.

Soon, we reached a humongous cavern and a lake. In the middle of the lake was a city. Of course, an underground, mysterious city in the middle of a lake. How original could you possibly get?

As the men rowed the boat (which I delightedly plopped down on) closer, I could see the city clearer. The architecture was wonderful: detailed buildings, fancy bridges, magnificent statues, great, big marble temples… Of course, there were some imperfections, but I planned to talk to the head architect about them. One of these days, I would build a city that was even better than this one.

As we walked on the streets, the citizens glared at us and yelled something in another language angrily. They didn't lay a finger on us, though, because of the policemen dressed in blue.

We entered a mansion through a tall, iron gate painted gold which Vertline humbly called a house. She led us to each of our 'chambers' to rest. She would send a guard to tell us when it was time for dinner. Apparently, we skipped lunch on the road.

I jumped on the soft bed and quickly fell asleep as soon as the door closed. I was dead tired.

* * *

* _Put your hands up! Don't move or we (will) strike in the name of the king. These will kill you in a second!_

_** Your friend is smart._

**_Finally! It's done! I'm so happy I could dance. Thank you to those of you who have waited patiently. This time of year is always busy for me. I don't even think there was enough extra time for a coffee break. :( Anyways. I think I'll go back to edit all of the previous chapters so it'll go a bit smoother, so there might not be another chapter for a while. Sorry._**

**_I'm going to try be like my math teacher and be a little 'wild'. I'm going to switch my chapter-ly message around: 'comment and review'! _**

**_-_-" Don't mind me..._**

**__****_Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite, followed, and supported me._**

**_~Sepharim_**


	13. Chapter 12

**PAUL'S POV**

"Remind me why do I have to wear this dress again?" I held it up to the light. It was sea green and just the perfect size for me.

Alena rolled her eyes. "Because I said so." She put her hands on her hips and glared at me when I threw the silky material at her and collapsed on my bed. Alena caught it easily enough.

"Anything else?" I wasn't going down to that dinner party it that until I had a good reason.

"We're in a different country with a different culture." Great job, Jonston. You got her started on a lecture. Now I'll never get dinner. "Imagine if an alien that looks somewhat like us came to Earth. In his planet, no one wears cloths. What would happen if he walked down the streets? A mob would be after him! Same concept with this situation. Get it?"

I stared at her in shock. I had thought she'll give me a lecture, which she, did but not with that example. I think she was hanging out with that crazy Apollo girl too much. Deciding not to say anything, I just pretended I didn't hear that and changed the subject.

"So how come I have to go? You always know what to say. Or how about Silena? If she pulled that cute look again, she'll have the crowd awing in seconds."

Alena gave me another glare; this time, it was her death glare. "I don't feel well, and Silena won't stop crying. I'll have to take care of her. There's also some research about this place I wanted to do. Besides, they like you better than me, especially Vertline." She mumbled that last bit so softly I barely heard it.

"Jealous?" I just had to smirk. Her cheeks colored.

"Don't you think you have a big enough ego? Never mind. Don't answer. Just put it on and don't do anything stupid." She thrust the cloths into my arms. Right before Alena shut the door behind her she said, "Oh, and by the way, it's a robe, not a dress."

The dress, or robe as Alena liked to call it, felt smooth and cold, a bit like water. It was long enough so that it reached to about my ankles and covered about half of my arm. I also put on the sandals she left me. There was a little pocket where I put the silver key in.

A guard directed me to the dining room. A long table covered with food and filled with guests met me. Everything was absolutely delicious. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that there was no pizza. None what-so-ever.

A waiter poured something into my glass. Absentmindedly as I was talking with Vertline, I drank it and nearly spat it out. I drowned the bitter taste of wine with all of the food on my plate, stuffing my mouth with food until I couldn't taste it anymore. Once when I was little, I accidently took a sip of Uncle Mark's. It didn't taste any better today as it did all those years ago.

Vertline took no notice; she just kept on talking. She looked that same as before except for her hair. Strands of hair weaved together to make a complicated design. It looked like it took hours. Everyone wore the silk dress thingy like me only with different designs. I made a mental note to thank Alena later.

After dinner everyone was rushed out to another room. Some people danced. Others talked. Since I didn't know anyone else I hung around Vertline. We started a conversation about Camp Half-blood and LA and this place. Surprisingly, down here they didn't have any internet.

"So… is Alena single?" I almost spat out my drink, again. This time it was water.

"Why do you ask?" I said carefully. I learned a long time ago to be cautious of talking to girls about other girls. The result back then was not pretty.

She shrugged. "I was just asking. Is she?"

"Yes?"

She nodded her approval. "My great uncle's trying to…" A man richly dressed waddled his way through the crowd toward us, his pot belly clearly visible. King Cinroch didn't look threatening or mad but she panicked anyway. "Do you dance? Good."

She pulled me into the crowd on the dance floor. I never danced in my life but somehow my body knew how to do it although I was pretty sure I stepped on her toes more than a couple of times. I twirled her every chance I got. I loved doing that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her uncle watch us. I felt Vertline's breath on my ear. "Is he still there? I don't see him."

"Yeah, he's right there." Suddenly, the room rose to a hundred degrees. I finally noticed how close we were. It was uncomfortable and not the good kind. I have a bubble (no matter how uncool that sounded) and I don't want just anyone to pop it. I started holding her at an arm's distance. Finally the dance ended.

I dragged Vertline from the dance floor despite her protest. A heavy hand rested on my shoulder just before I entered the crowd.

"Young man, may I speak to you?" The king stood behind me. Vertline was nowhere to be seen. I nodded.

He led me to his office and sat down motioning me to sit too. "Now I have some questions for you. Do you like it here?"

"Of course sir." It's best to be polite. Not everything Chiron, Uncle Mark, Alena, and Sarah says goes in one ear and out the other.

He continued asking me questions like what was it like in the 'Upperworld', who's my godly parent, whether I comfortable here, what I was doing here, and if I liked his great niece. I answered as accurate and politely as I could but my patience was wearing away and my ADHD wasn't helping.

"Do you really like my niece?" He seemed surprised with my first answer.

"Yes, I do." I don't know where he was getting at but all of these questions were bugging me.

"Excellent! Come with me boy." He walked to a balcony above the guests and cleared his throat loudly. Everyone looked up. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. Today, we celebrate my niece's fifteenth birthday, an ideal age for marriage." I had a bad feeling about this. "For about a year, I have been looking for a suitable suitor and heir. Now I have found him! This young man here…"

He turned to me and whispered, "What's your name, lad?"

"Paul Jonston." I think I knew where this was going, and I didn't like it one bit.

"Paul Jonston, will be the next king of Aluterus, the glorious city of Phorcys!" The crowd erupted in applause. Cinroch wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Make me proud and don't do anything stupid or you'll have me to answer to. I wish you and Vertline a happy life."

The rest of the night blurred together filled with smiles, congratulations, glares, and a girl hanging on to my arm. I didn't play any attention to them. Three words burned in my mind: I am engaged.

I wondered how Alena and Silena will take the news.

* * *

**_Sorry for the wait. So how did you like chapter 12? Review and comment!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	14. Chapter 13

**PAUL'S POV**

After everyone went home, Vertline dragged me to a lab, and when I said drag, I meant it. I didn't want anything to do with her after what happened. A grandfather clock struck eleven.

Work tables, covered in bottles filled with colorful liquids and complex looking tools, jammed into my waist when I tried to squeeze between them. She led me to a chair near a table near the back of the room.

"Sit down and don't fidget," she ordered as she moved various things on the table searching for something. "You're the son of Poseidon aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question. It also caught me off guard.

"Wait. What?"

"I said 'are you the son of Poseidon?'" She found what she was looking for and poured the powder into a container.

"I don't know who my parent is. Didn't I tell you this already?" Something about her was bugging me, something that I didn't see the first time I met her. I wondered how she knew who my parent was in the first place.

She just ignored my question and continued to add some sort of liquid into the mixture. Surprisingly, instead of pouring it, she made a gesture, and the liquids just flowed in the air and mixed themselves. If anyone was the child of Poseidon, it was her.

I stood there awkwardly, not wanting to do what the evil scientist said, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to leave.

She glanced back at me. "I told you to sit down. It's much too uncomfortable to stand for long periods of time." With a wave of her hand, Vertline produced some water out of thin air which she pushed me with to force me into the chair. Then the 'arm' of water tied me with a coil of rope.

Am I humiliated that I was beaten by _water?_ Of course not. This was totally something I would tell to my kids someday. (Note the sarcasm.)

Vertline hummed to herself as she worked. "You do know I didn't plan for this to happen right?"

When I didn't say anything, she continued. "But then again, you're much better than all of the others. All they want to be is king, and Uncle just wanted someone that wouldn't kill him for the position. I never want to get married. Down here, being a wife-even to a king- means hard work, no power, and obedience." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and walked towards me holding a glass of whatever she made, still mixing. "I wished it was more like your world."

Then she started talking about politics and how she wished her government was democratic. I started to zone out after that. "That's why I never want to get married, no offense, and why you have to get out of here."

Without realizing it, I let out breath I was holding. So I wasn't going to be married before I learned how to drive. I thought about her offer. She knew the place better than all three of us. Vertline could be our ticket out. I don't want to stay to see the day of my wedding down here. "How are you going to get us all out?"

"I'll tell you later tonight at your room, probably at half past midnight. Get Alena and Silena ready too." Then Vertline stopped stirring and knelt down behind me.

"Ok, try not to scream. This is for your own good. Don't give me that look!" Roughly, she grabbed my left hand and twisted it until she had my pinky's stump facing up. She carefully tilted the beaker and the liquid inside the glass slowly dripped on the stump.

Immediately, I felt pain. My hand throbbed and stung. It felt like a thousand needles were poking at just one spot while someone poured a bucket of lava on it with every drop. It took all of my strength to not cry out.

The key in my pocket burned with a coldness so painful that it seemed like it burned its way under my skin. It added to my torture but I would gladly take that coldness than whatever Vertline's doing to me. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to pull my hand away, but the ropes and Vertline's strong grip held me in place.

In what felt like a hundred million years, the pain ebbed away, leaving me panting heavily. She untied the ropes. "What did you do to me?"

I could practically see her smiling. "See for yourself."

Once I was completely free, I slowly brought my hand to my face. Where there was once an empty space was… my little finger. She grew my pinky back. No more looks of pity or disgusted looks or wonder. No more anything! I was whole again.

Because it was new, the skin tone was different, lighter. No one would notice it, though, unless they look closely. It was also a bit shorter than my right one, but I hardly cared then.

"You didn't think I was going to let my future husband be a crippled did you." She had a proud expression on her face graced with a huge smile. "You're lucky you have Poseidon's blood in you. If not, I couldn't help you."

"Thank you so much!" If anyone could see my face, they would have thought it was going to crack.

"You're welcome." When I was at the door, she grabbed my arm. "Don't forget, you and Silena have some water in your blood. Alena doesn't. She has to get out of here. Otherwise…" Her voice trailed off.

I nodded. "I get it."

"Bye. Tonight. It's your only chance." Vertline softly closed the door behind me.

I absentmindedly walked to my room, surprised that I knew the way. This day sped by quickly: from getting hunted by what we were hunting to captured by some wacko guy to getting engaged while in a dress.

Vertline wasn't that bad actually. She was just… different, the crazy kind of different. The important thing was, though, she knew who I was. She knew who my parent was and was going to get us out of here.

I actually had a godly parent: Poseidon. I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole way. It sounded right; it fits. It explained everything. I looked at my left hand again and smiled.

This was the best and worst day of my life so far: getting engaged, having my pinky back, and finding who was my godly parent, and planning a jailbreak.

I stopped in front of Alena's door and wondered if I should tell her the good news. Then again, I have to warn her about the escape anyway. Better to wake her up late at night than an ungodly hour in the morning. Softly, I knocked on her door hoping it won't be opened by a cranky teenage girl.

* * *

**_I know some (a lot) of you are mad of me for Chapter 12, but there's a method to my madness. Just be patient. Ok, if I say anything else, I'll spoil it._**

**_This was supposed to be in the previous chapter, but I wanted to see what your reaction was (plus, it's too long to combine it). Sorry 'bout that and to all of you who wanted to see Alena and Silena's reactions. At least it's longer than the Prologue. Hopefully you won't try to run me over with pitchforks and torches anymore._**

**_Review!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	15. Chapter 14

**_ALENA'S POV_**

I sighed as I closed the thick book on my lap and tossed it on the other end of the bed. It must have been the hundredth book I've read on Aluterus. After I sent Paul on his way, I headed to the library to do some research on this place. Silena came along quite quietly and on her own persistence. If I ever have a child, I would want him/her to be like Silena minus the temper.

While I was in the library getting all the scrolls, maps, and books about Aluterus, its history, and the monster we were tracing- in Ancient Greek of course- I spotted a little kid with several peanut butter and jelly jars, a lot of bread, a plate, knife, and some stacks of paper. Apparently, he was trying to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The funny thing was, he always messed up after looking at the papers. On many occasions he tried using his hands to spread them on his bread, and once he wiped a whole bunch of peanut butter on his bottom.

I walked over and asked him what he was doing. Luckily, he spoke Ancient Greek. The papers were instructions on how to make the sandwiches and one of them said 'spread the peanut butter on the buns.' It was hilarious watching him. Finally, the librarian kicked Silena and me out which did a huge favor for me. I couldn't have gotten anything done if I've stayed there.

So here I was, going over the scrolls finding more about the city than I ever want to. Some of them were interesting, though. Aluterus was created for the children of Phorcys, the god of the hidden dangers of the deep. It was carefully hidden underground near the ocean away from the mortals since its creation. Every story written about it not by an Aluterian was burn. From the beginning, the king ruled the city. No mortal or demigod was allowed to leave.

The next scroll showed me the map of the city with all of its alleys and streets. I quickly found a route from the city to the nearest exit.

Suddenly, my headache pounded in my skull, again. I clutched my head tightly. Ever since we got here I've been under the weather. Migraines, runny noses, stomach aches, sleepiness all took their turns with me.

I plopped my head down on the pillows, ignoring the thumps of the books and scrolls falling to the floor and turned to face the small clock on my nightstand. A little past 11 o'clock it read. At least Silena was in her room sleeping (finally), and Paul was downstairs, hopefully not making a fool out of himself. I just wanted to go to sleep…

The door knocked softly just as I was nodding off to sleep. The person on the other side of the room took my groan of annoyance as a yes and the door slowly creaked open.

"What do you want?" I snapped, not bothering to look to see who it was. I've been 'working' all day while not feeling well and was just about to finally get some sleep when this idiot barged in. If I could have my way, the guy would be running out of here with his imaginary tail between his legs.

"Guess what!" I cringed at the loudness of his voice and the force of his thoughts. That could only mean one person.

"Tell me in the morning." Usually I wasn't this lazy or cranky (ok, maybe not that last part), but this has been a horrible day. I hid myself under my blanket.

"I got my pinky back; we're getting out of here. And I'm not getting married anymore!" Paul yanked the blankets off me and stared at me expecting a reaction.

"Shh. Silena's sleeping next-door and it took forever for me to get her to stay in there. I'm glad you have in back, but could you put it down a notch?" I grabbed a bunch of scrolls from the floor and opened them to show him them, all sleepiness and pain gone. "Now I have several possible escape routes, and they're all fairly easy assuming they're up-to-date. Our only problem after it is that we don't have any weapons except your Uncle's gun. Also, I found some information about the monster…" His last words finally sunk into my sleep deprived, cranky, headachy brain. "YOU WERE _WHAT_?"

All of his previous excitement drained away leaving a quivering shell of a coward. "Can't you just tell me what you were going to say first about the monster?" It came out weak and soft.

I gave him my best glare and tried not to murder him on the spot. "Tell. Me." Naturally, he told me the whole thing from the party to Cinroch's speech to how Vertline grew his pinky back and their conversation. It made my head spin. "How could you get yourself into this?" It came out more of a demand than a question.

"I don't know. It happened so quickly." He slowly inched toward the door. What does he think I'm going to do? Kill him? Of course not… yet. First I have to torture him, and I didn't care if I get another headache afterwards.

"You know what? Just forget it. Let's just get packed and get out of here first." If only I felt as calm as I sounded. An itchiness in my throat appeared, and he needed to get out of here. "Get Silena and for Zeus's sake, change out of that robe!" After he left, I broke down in a coughing fit and spat out some blood. I hoped I could make it out of here.

Soon, we were all packed and were waiting for that witch of a duchess or whatever she was who apparently decided to turn up around midnight.

"I brought you guys some food for the road. I hope you don't mind."

"That's great! Thanks." Paul eagerly took the food and stuffed them inside his backpack. I scowled at him.

"Are you feeling alright?" I tried my hardest not to look angry or sickly when I replied and gave her the sweetest smile I could manage at the time. I must not show any weakness.

"I'm fine, thank you." I handed the sleeping Silena to Paul. My hands started to get tired. Hopefully I could make it through the night without them noticing anything. If the Fates decide I'm not going to last for very long, then I don't want to end it down here. "Let's a move on before any guards catch us."

The escape went uneventful excluding some close calls with some patrol guards. They let us through though, trying to look good to the 'next heir.' What a bunch of idiots.

Around the time we exited the palace (or whatever it was) I started feeling extremely sick and dizzy. I occasionally swayed a bit. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Paul noticed. Somehow, he carried Silena and his backpack fill with things and supported about half of my weight. Vertline, thank the gods, paid no notice.

The dinner a servant brought to me in my room earlier threatened to make a comeback, and my brain had a throbbing fit worse than anything, unable to comprehend anything but the simplest of things. If anyone asked me to describe what it was like creeping around in that city I couldn't give a true answer. I really didn't remember anything. Everything was a blur.

I did remember, though, walking over water (apparently both Paul and Silena are related to Poseidon) to the tunnel leading inland and Vertline kissing Paul on the cheek while she was 'saying good-bye' to him when my back was turned. It was a relief when she left after that or I might have strangled her. We didn't need any more distractions, especially him, when we have a quest going on.

No, I was absolutely not making an excuse.

Paul and I walked for Zeus knows how long down the tunnels and took turns carrying Silena after my nauseousness went away. Soon, I felt better. Not good, just better.

The wet rocky floor slowly melted to hard dirt, and the torches reappeared lighting the way. If I hadn't known better, I could have sworn this was the exact tunnel we went through before when we first arrived.

I was thankful we weren't completely lost. By roughly calculated where we were according to the maps, I would say we were right under Florida and heading inland. How we came from New York to Florida so quickly I have no idea.

'We should rest.' His aired thoughts broke the silence and startled me, almost making me drop the little nine-year-old. I knew when he said 'we' he meant me.

'Why?'

'I'm a bit tired.' I glanced at him for a moment. He didn't look a bit tired. If anything, he was bored, but not lacking of energy in any way. I was grateful though. Even though I felt more like myself, I still didn't feel well. I nodded my head, agreeing.

We laid Silena on a blanket near a wall, careful not to have a torch above her just in case it fell down.

"I'll stand guard." I stopped rummaging in my backpack for a second.

"Why don't I do it? I have to study some of the scrolls I borrowed from the library anyway."

I could practically see his smirk when I said that. "The great, book-loving Alena Coleman stole from the library? The world just ended." I wasn't used to this. Paul seemed to be getting more carefree every day, more relaxed than I was used to.

My cheeks colored; I still haven't forgiven him for earlier. "I didn't! I told you I'm borrowing it. What's more important: us being able to navigate our way out of here or them having their precious books back on time?"

He raised his hands in a defeated position. "Ok, ok. I get it, but I'm still on guard duty. You're too sick."

"But you need to sleep too. Besides, to send this monster to Tartarus, we'll need all the manpower was can get, and unfortunately, you're the only male in this group." I couldn't believe I just said that, but I needed to persuade him somehow. Plus, in my defense, I was not in my right mind.

"Hey! Just get some rest or just sit there if you don't want to sleep! We need our best strategist in tip-top shape." When he said that, he gave me his cute puppy eyes. I wondered how his mom ever got him to do anything. (Immediately, I felt ashamed for thinking that. His mom died when he was young.)

"Fine," I sighed and sat down before studying the various maps of the complex.

While looking at one, I got a glimpse of my hand. Startled, I looked closer. My hand looked rougher but softer at the same time, same with the left. The scar I got from cutting myself with a piece of glass when I was young disappeared. This wasn't me. I also noticed my hair turned blonder, if that was possible.

The gears in my brain turned blindingly. Finding no reasonable answer, I gave up. I was near to the point of exhaustion. Much against my will, I felt my eyes drooping. Soon, I fell asleep.

* * *

**_I know, I know. Sucky ending, but I can't think of anything else._**

**_I also apologize for chapters 12 and 13 again. It probably wasn't a good idea to write when you're this particular person (me), sick, and have a headache. Yeah, not the smartest idea..._**

**_I was going to deleate the peanutbutter part, but I'm too lazy to at the moment._**

**_Thank you to Dark Dreamscape for helping me edit this!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	16. Chapter 15

**JULIE'S POV**

I did it. I couldn't believe it. Vertline* actually did it! My smile widen as Paul, Alena, and Silena disappeared into the tunnels. To believe it only took 50 drachmas.

"Good job, kid." A heavy hand rested on my shoulder. I turned to see 'Captain' with a lopsided smile on his face. "It actually worked. Now who said being the daughter of Aphrodite doesn't have its advantages, Julie*?"

His wife rolled her eyes. "Of course it worked. What did you expect? It plan was completely flawless from the start." She scowled. "I always knew that witch resembled a greedy little royal pig with an attitude, no offense for the pigs. Anyway, you did great Julia. We're proud of you."

Why she called me that I have never knew.

With a wave of Captain's hand the IM vanished along with the scenes. Now we were staring at a foggy mirror in front of the hotel room's sink awkwardly. Well… at least Captain and I were: his wife was glaring at it.

"What are you waiting for? Call Mark." She paused for a second. He quickly sent an Iris-message using Fleecy's direct number. She's been getting cranky and moody lately.

_"O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Mark Jonston at Camp Half-blood." _I resisted the urge to laugh. No matter how many times he said that it still sounded stupid.

Ol' Uncle Mark appeared with his ancient scarf around his neck looking irritated as usual. "What took you so long, son? You're half a minute late!" He didn't bother to hid his British accent.

"Hello to you too, Grampa Markus," Captain sarcastically replied. His wife gave a small smirk, and I was just happy to not be notice. Believe me when I say things could get ugly.

"It's _Uncle _Markus to you! How would the mortals think if you called me that when I only look forty? And I never thought boys could be even ruder than they were in my time. Why, when I was a boy-"

"That was like 200 years ago! And you're not even my uncle!" At this rate we're going to lose all of our drachmas until his wife butted in.

"How's it going Uncle Mark?" She gave him the best smile she could managed and a little wave. His light blue eyes soften a little.

"Good morning to you too, darling. How are your children?" I smirked a little. Leave it to the women to keep the chaos in order.

She smiled. "Fine. How's Luke coming along?"

"Humph. Same as always."

"Oh come on! How come you act civilized to her and not me? I'm absolutely loveable!" He puffed out his chest and wiggled his eyebrows the way only he can do to add some effect which sent the rest of us howling with laughter, except Uncle Mark of course.

"How inappropriate! In front of your wife and a young lass! Are you mocking me?" The fair-skinned man in the mist seemed to turn deep red.

"Hey!"

"It's." [laugh] "fine." [laugh] "We're used" [laugh] "to it." She was still in a giggling fit, but I wasn't.

"I'm not young! I'm turning fourteen next fall!"

"That's still young." A small hand gripped my arm tightly.

_"Please insert another drachma for another fifteen minutes."_

"Would you like to come over?" She really knew how to talk to adults doesn't she?

"I most certainly do! Just wait until I knock some sense into your husband. Why couldn't I have you for a great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-gr eat granddaughter instead? I'll be over in a minute."

"Are you sure you can manage to travel from New York to California in only one minute?" I asked. "You're still recovering from the poison, remember?"

"Humph! I'll be –oh, what do you Americans say- fit as a fiddle. A minute and not a second late!" With that he cut the connection. We were back at staring at the bathroom mirror.

"Let's get out of here," I suggested. "It's too crowded, and we could sit in the bedroom, too."

"Are you sure it's not your feet that's bothering you? I told you not to high heels. Once an Aphrodite girl, always an Aphrodite girl." Captain chuckled as we walked out and sat on the bed.

"My mother has nothing to do with this! Besides, they could be used as weapons thank you very much."

"Would it hurt you guys so much not to be so obnoxiously loud? Some people are trying to sleep next door. Oh, where in Zeus's name are my blueprints?"

"You would work in a time like this?"

"Exactly how did you know me?" His wife put her hands on her hips. Suddenly the door slammed open.

_"Bonjour mesdames et singe!" _A tall man bursted into the room. Instinctively I grabbed the hilt of my sword. He was a head taller than Captain and certainly didn't missed many meals from what I could see.

"What the heck does sigh-guh mean?"

"It means monkey, honey," his wife answered without looking up from her work.

Captain placed a hand over his heart and did his best to look hurt. "I'm glad you can say that to your beloved husband so casually."

"Enough! We're wasting time with this nonsense." Uncle Mark made himself comfortable on a chair facing us. "Now, what happened so far?" We fill him in. Well... it was mostly me, but that was beside the point. His face became grim. "And the monster?"

I glanced that the couple. I didn't keep up with the news, mainly because I thought it was unnecessary. Who cares about what mortals think when you have a quest going on and training to do?

"It's been through New York, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida and is most recently seen in Louisiana. About ten people were killed: eight mortals and two demigods. The Police thinks it's a psychopath killer. I... I think it's tracking them down." The blanket in her hands had a thousand wrinkles by the time she was finished with her report. Captain put an arm around her.

"Don't know why we're even doing this," I stated. "Couldn't we just destroy the monster and get it over with instead of staying in here?"

Within seconds Uncle Mark grabbed both of my shoulder and held me close to his face, looking me in the eye. That was all I could see, those huge angry brown eyes. "Don't you ever think about that girl, understood? If we did that we wouldn't be here right now. You would still be with your father right now. Is that what you want? To be with your daddy back in Washington? Think for once! Why doesn't this generation think? _He,_" Uncle Mark shouted, pointing a finger at Captain, who was paralyzed with shock, "wouldn't have save you from that hellhound! Silena and Luke would disappear. This is not about killing or destroying things; it's about Time!" He was panting heavily now, but I had the feeling he wasn't done. I braced myself for another hit, whether it was a tongue lashing or a physical one, but it never came.

"I would lose my last connection of Grace in this blasted planet," he added quietly, calming down. The pressure on my shoulders lessoned considerably allowing blood to flow into my arms again. I bit my lip trying not to cry. It's not that I was a crybaby; I was just emotional.

"What's up with you? It was a decent question." Captain glared at his ancestor while his wife hugged me, trying to get me from stop shaking. I didn't care how old someone was or how strong they were emotionally. No one could stand at my place without being a little fearful. As a daughter of the goddess of Love, of _emotions_, I sensed how furious he was... And how familiar it was for him. He did that before, and last time, he hadn't held back.

* * *

**SILENA'S POV**

A gasped and squeezed my sweaty hands together. 'It's just a dream,' I told myself. 'It's just a stupid, meaningless dream.' Except demigod dreams are real, whether it took place in the past, present, or future.

I shut my eyes again tightly, ignoring the hard dirt ground under me. I tried to remember every little detail from that horrible scene. Mom said knowledge and information was powerful. So was this just a dream, an illusion from an enemy, or a real, full blown demigod dream?

Both Mom and Dad wore the exact cloths they had on the day they disappeared. Mom had her hair in that messy ponytail, and Dad's was untamable as always. The poisoned arrows hit Dad on his back, Mom right on her heart. My mind forced itself to turn away from them. I want to believe they could survive that. I really did, but from what I could tell, no one could survive that. Still, I managed to keep a tiny a silver of hope.

I focused on the enemy archer all dressed in black. He (I didn't think a female's voice could go that low) seemed blurry- like someone smudged the wet paint making the spot look ambiguous.

A loud snore interrupted my train of thought. When I found the source, I couldn't help but smile despite how horrible I felt. Paul fell asleep on the job, and apparently, wouldn't let Alena take a turn as watch-out. How exactly did they expect a light sleeper, who was also the daughter of an almost hyperactive dad, not to hear them when they're blabbering away last night?

I sat up and decided to finish keeping watch. I couldn't sleep anyway. Looking around, I found nothing that would tell me what time it was or how long I've slept or even if it's day or night. No wonder why Mom hated going underground. There was no escape when you're attacked on both sides and it held very little information in terms of time and position.

I sighed and curled up next to Alena. She started to look a lot like Mom. Then again, that was to be expected to an extent: she was probably my half aunt**. But what were the odds that Paul resembles Dad, I'm with a quest with both of them, _and_ they had their own little affinity? Probably 1 out of 100,000,000,000,000. I snuggled closer to her. She even smelled like her. For a while maybe, I could pretend that they were my parents. I couldn't keep this leader act forever. I was just a little nine-year-old girl trying to step outside her parents' shadows.

* * *

**_* I should have said so long ago, but almost all of my characters have lost almost all connections with the people they've been base on. They've kind of developed their own characteristics. I just wanted a certain person(s) and you guys to know._**

**_** Is there any such thing as a half aunt?_**

**_I know this was probably not what you guys wanted, but I would like to keep things in chronological order. :) Also, I'm going to be pretty busy during this month (and maybe the start of the next, too) because of all the tests and all. Just a heads up._**

**_I really don't know what to say now since I would start rambling so REVIEW! _**

**_~Sepharim_**


	17. Chapter 16

**PAUL'S POV**

Waking up with a back cramp was never pleasant - especially if you were stressed out or sore from yesterday or the cold. Welcome to my life.

I never expected for this quest to be so _boring._ So far, no monsters appeared at all (unless you count crazy girls). It wasn't that I expected a whole lot of heroic adventure or anything, but I felt like I was in one of my many schools again. I wondered what made me go in the first place.

Silena curled up beside Alena on the opposite wall. They looked so much alike, although younger from this angle, especially Silena. I also never noticed that grey streak of hair on Alena. Wait, _grey?_

I looked closer. Yup. I was right. And no wonder Silena was so light yesterday; she _was _younger. Alena, on the other hand, just looked different, yet familiar. I just couldn't put my finger on it…

"Would you be so kind to not stare at me? You're creeping me out." I snapped out of my train of thought to see Alena, who had just woken up, glaring at me. "Well, don't just stand there. Do something."

Little did I know a few minutes later, I would get my adventure.

* * *

"Keep running!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" My side heaved as I sprinted with Alena and Silena on both sides, managing to keep up with me. I think we lost it somewhere in the network for tunnels but I didn't stop to look. My legs began to tire out, but without weapons, what else could we do?

I've decided I did _not_ like adventure or riddles, if it meant I could die. Stupid monster. Why couldn't she let Alena answer?

Finally, I hit something hard… again. Why does it always happen to me?

'Because you're an idiot.' I rolled my eyes. Thanks a lot, Alena.

"How in the gods' names are we going to get past this?" That was a good question. The metal door stood solidly in its place. Any space between the door and wall didn't exist at all. The only way to open it was probably with a key that fit into the lock. Who the heck puts a door here of all places? At about my eye level someone carved something on it in some foreign language in something that looked like cursive. It nearly killed my dyslexic eyes.

"You know what says?" Silena asked turning to both of us with wide eyes. "Is it some kind of warning or something?"

"I have no idea" Alena replied. "But we have to get past it quickly. It's either that or…"She didn't need to finish. As if on cue the sphinx shrieked. We were trapped.

"Wait, I have an idea." I dug through my pocket and found the sliver key that Mormo threw at Alena. She scowled while Silena just looked confused.

"That's not going to work."

"Well, you don't know that." I fitted the tiny thing into the keyhole and twisted it. Surprisingly, it worked. The heavy metal door slowly creaked open. I turned to her smugly while I put the key back into my pocket. "Told you."

"We don't have time for this, guys!" Silena shouted quietly. She was right; the monster could appear at any moment. Speaking of which, I think she jinxed it.

"There you guys are," the sphinx purred, making a grand appearance. "Let's all be good sports and accept your loses, shall we?" Her face gave way to a creepy smile that did nothing to make her scrawny face look anymore prettier. With every step she took nearer sharp claws scraped the rocky ground. Those great golden wings stretched out as far as they could, blocking our path back.

"Hurry up!" I felt a hand grab hold of mine and dragged me through the door. The sphinx's red eyes flashed disapprovingly.

Behind the door was a cave filled with water. Sunlight shone through an opening along the wall to my right a few feet up. I immediately perked up at the thought of fresh air. In order to get there though, we would have to get wet, but first we had to take care of the monster on our tail.

Luckily, she was still taking her sweet time. Alena motioned the Silena and me to follow her. We positioned ourselves behind the scrap of metal to try to close it shut.

All three of us pushed the door as hard as we could but it wouldn't budge. In an instant, the sphinx pounced. She got a hold of Silena's shirt and threw her on an island, not too far away but not within jumping distance.

She landed with a soft thump and a groan.

Alena and I scattered, her to the left, me to the right. I felt helpless with no weapons. The sphinx crept towards Alena with her haunches in the air. I've seen enough alley cats fighting back in LA to see that she was going to pounce. Before I could think, I took off my backpack and threw it at her. It landed on the back of her head. There goes my life line.

The sphinx hissed and turned towards me, tail lashing. Uh-oh.

I stepped back once, then twice, then again until my back pressed against the wall. The monster was close enough that I gagged over her fishy breath - nothing against fish, of course. Her eyes contained a hungry look in it. Long yellow teeth smiled wickedly at me. Between the two rows of knives, a thick red tongue showed itself. It was official: she was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen.

A wild swipe scratched my shoulder, ripping through my jacket and shirt and cutting my skin. For a second I felt nothing, and then the stinging came.

I felt her teeth against my throat and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, she shrieked (in my ear… ouch) and collapsed to dust. Directly in my view, Alena stood with her arm extended in a throwing position. She had saved my butt yet again.

Despite my close call to death, I couldn't help but feel disgusted. Now I have monster guts on me. Gross.

"You OK?"Alena rushed up to me and forced a bit of ambrosia down my throat. Immediately, my wound healed right before my eyes. A few months ago, I would've been amazed; now, it was just a comforting thought and sight.

I spotted a short bronze knife half buried in the dust and picked it up. It had the initials AC on it and suspiciously looked familiar. "Where did you get this?"

"Your backpack where Vertline line's supposed food was supposed to be. There're the same ones she picked up from the skeletons earlier." She stood and took the knife away from me. "I guess that witch was good for something after all." She wrinkled her nose almost adorably after she said that as if the thought disgusted her.

I opened my mouth to say something but closed it at the last second. I never knew why Alena always hated her. It was a girl thing, I guess, and I have never understood girls.

My mind tried reaching out to hers to find out what she was thinking. Usually she was easy to find and read; she might be hard to figure out from that outside, but from the inside she was an open book. Today though, I couldn't find her at all. Maybe the connection finally broke. I knew I shouldn't have taken advantage of it.

"Just don't sit there! Stand up and help me find- Oh my gods, where's Silena!" Her voice echoed in the cave and magnified by at least five, jolting me into reality.

My eyes widened. How could I have forgotten about her? Franticly, we called her name over and over, our eyes looking everywhere to find her. We heard a faint whimper towards an island nearby. Of course! How did I forget? Ok, Paul, stop talking to yourself like a complete idiot.

As we were wading hip-deep in the clear water, I felt funny- not the weird kind of funny, the funny funny kind. In fact, I wanted to whoop with joy, go swimming, stuff myself with candy, cut some girl's hair all wrong, and turn around, take Alena's hand and just dance all at once. Who cares if I was a horrible dancer or that I had almost no idea where I was. Long story short, I felt happy, energetic, brave, clever, hyper, _young_.

…So this is what YOLO feels like...

Instinctively, I swirled to face Alena, who had a silly grin grace her nearly perfect lips and a twinkle in stormy grey eyes. She rarely had that look on her face, but I must say, I kind of like that look. I gave her my famous lopsided smile in return.

Apparently, she wasn't looking where she was going and stumbled on something. When she glanced down with that happy look still on her face and saw what she tripped on, her smile turned upside down. I stole a glance too and didn't see anything spectacular about it.

"What happened? Scared of a little rock?" I teased, lightly punching her.

"Paul, let's get on dry land." A small part of my brain sensed the urgency in her voice and wanted to do what she said, but the rest of me just froze.

"What?" It came out more of a demand than a question.

"Come on. You know I hate getting wet. We also have to help Silena. You two are related remember?" Alena started to bite her lower lip and her eyebrows creased: a clear sign that she was worried. She grabbed my arm, yanking me in the direction of land. The pretty blonde managed to drag me close enough that we could just jump on the island.

(…Who in Poseidon's name was Silena?)

Anger burned inside me. I'm the son of Poseidon. Water is my home. Besides, I didn't want to leave the cool, refreshing water and didn't have to do everything she said. Enough was enough. I dug my heels into the rocky ground until we halted to a stop just at the water line. She was on dry land while my shoes still touched water. There was still time.

Alena hesitated just for a second, her eyes widening like she just realized something, but a second was all I need. Immediately, I wrestled my hand out of her grasp and took a few step back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your life you cowardly Seaweed Brain!" Her face was all flushed.

We argued a few minutes and exchanged insults. After I called her a stupid, motherless demigod she finally cracked. (I do NOT recommend calling her that unless you want a slow, painful death.) Thankfully, she took mercy on me, because I felt _really _bad afterwards. I guessed she was so angry that she forgot what my name was.

"PERSEUS JACKSON, if you insult me one me one more time I will slay you alive, give your dead body to the Stolls and Apollo kids to experiment on, and feed you to the hell hounds! Now get your butt over here, pronto!" I had flinched at every threat even when I didn't really know what she was talking about. Alena sounded sincere though, and that was enough for me to hightail it over there.

As soon as I was completely on dry land, I felt weaker. My joyfulness drained away. Then, my eyes momentarily blinded themselves with white. All of my memories came flooding back: the minotaur, the Sea of Monsters, Tyson, Grover, the Labyrinth, the Battle of Manhattan. That boy I dreamt about at Mr. di Angelo's was _me_.

It all came like a wave. They didn't feel like my memories; they seemed like someone else's. It felt like I was in Alena's memories again only it was mine – I mean Percy's – I mean mine. Oh whatever. Something was missing though, and I couldn't figure it out. It was at the tip of my tongue.

I dried Alena at her insistence, and helped heal Silena back to consciousness all without looking at Alena and Silena in the eye. I wondered how they would take it. Hopefully Silena wouldn't worship me – she did say one of her heroes was, well, me. Alena would probably run me over with my-former-girlfriend's knife and never trust me again. I winced at the thought. She, whoever she was, would kill me if she found out I had a crush on someone else.

"Are you ok? You're kinda out of it, Percy." My head snapped up to look at Alena. Silena did the same, her eyes wide. Alena just smirked at me, making me feel self-conscious.

No, wait. She was in my old memories. My already useless brain went into shock. It was Annabeth.

"Dad?" I barely heard the nine-year-old's tiny whisper, but I didn't take my eyes away from those stormy grey eyes.

Alen – er, Annabeth (gods this was confusing) – leaned closer and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Welcome back from the dead, Captain Seaweed Brain."

* * *

**_Well, I don't really know what to say. After all the studying for the End of the Year Test (no that's not what it's called) was done I don't really know what to do with myself, so here it is. I hope you enjoyed it! I know you guys want me to update soon according to the review I got when I first posted this chapter, but that is almost impossible; I'm just too busy to write that fast._**

**_Thank you to everyone to had supported me, favorited, followed, viewed, and stayed with me for this long._**

**_As always, review, comment, and/or criticize!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


	18. Chapter 17

**SILENA'S POV**

I turned to Paul then Alena, then back to Paul. No, no, no. This can't be happening. My parents are in their thirties, not thirteen. Sure, I noticed the similarities between those two and Mom and Dad but still… I'm not that much like a child.

"Dad? Mom?" Both of them turned my way. Alena took a step forward while Paul just looked flustered. I flatted myself against the cold wall, a way from both of them. This wasn't right. One little dip in the Fountain couldn't make someone _that _young in a short amount of time, and even if it could, Mom and Dad were too experienced to be so careless. None of the pieces fitted together at all.

She kneeled in front of me and looked me in the eye with unexpected understanding.

"I know this will be hard for you to believe us, but we're not just Alena and Paul. We are… we _were_ someone else before we died." Alena glanced at Paul for a moment but wasn't getting any help from him. "You know the story of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, right? Well, we're-"

"Can we do this somewhere - oh, I don't know – sunnier?" Percy interrupted. "This place is kinda weird."

Alena rolled her eyes. "Oh grow up." She did what he requested, though, and Paul and I made a watery staircase up to the opening and our freedom, but I made sure nobody got wet no matter what. (Paul and Alena were more than happy to comply.) We all squeezed through the tiny hole, me a bit reluctantly. All the while I thought of all the possibilities of what their connection were with my parents.

Outside, the glaring hot sun pounded at me so suddenly that I stood on the dry, dusty ground dazed for a moment from the light. After my eyes had adjusted, I saw what could be described as the total opposite of Florida, which was what I had expected.

The cloudless sky towered over the utterly brown land. All of the few plants I saw looked either dead or extremely sick. The only plants that seemed alive at all were the cactuses. Not a drop of water was to be seen. About a foot away, a road ran for as far as the eyes could see to the left and right. According to the sun, the morning had just begun.

For some reason that I couldn't explain, I felt almost comfortable here, like I've been here before. Other people that I could name weren't so pleased.

"How the heck did we end up here?!" Alena, furious, glanced at the two of us. Luckily, a red minivan pulled up to save Paul and me from her rage.

The passenger door opened, and a pretty burnet stepped out and squinted at our direction. It took me a while to recognize her since I haven't seen her since last Christmas, but soon, I ran into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Well isn't this a pleasant little surprise," she laughed. "Whatcha city people doing all the way in Texas?" she asked, looking at Alena and Paul behind me with a twinkle in her eyes. (Texas… so that's where we were.)

I pulled away from Aunt Blair and tackled Uncle Matthew in the driver's seat. Uncle Matthew smiled while pulling away to join the others outside. Then I squeezed to the back seat to play with Jo as suggested by Uncle Matthew and watch her play with my fingers. In the meantime, I heard snippets of the conversation between the 'adults.' It was hard to catch everything, though, with the doors closed and Jo gurgling once in a while. Everyone's voices were muted.

"…So nice to see you again… look so young…" Aunt Blair commented.

"…Quest… found Fountain… not where… supposed to be…" Alena – I still refused to accept that she was Annabeth – said after giving Uncle Matthew a hug. I nearly choked on my saliva. They knew each other?

"Luke… camp… monster… Uncle Murcus…" Paul mumbled.

"It's ok, man…headed home… stay with us for…" Uncle Matthew chuckled, walking back to the car.

The next thing I knew, we were on the dusty road with me dumped in the very back seat with the imposter father, Alena next to little Jo, and Uncle Matthew and Aunt Blair in front. For most of the trip I just stared out of the indifferent scenery outside and made sure Paul's drool didn't make any contact with me what-so-ever while the people in front talked about boring grown-up stuff. Amazingly, I eventually nodded off to sleep.

When I woke up, the first thing that came into my mind was, 'Yes! Air condition!' I was in one of the two guest bedrooms in Aunt Blair's house. Finally I was somewhere familiar. Thinking back, I guess someone had carried me upstairs.

Running downstairs, I noticed that I have gotten… heavier… and faster… and longer which was why I probably wasn't that irritated when I smacked head-on into Dad's chest. Well at least, I thought it was Dad because I've done it so many times in the past. (It was Paul.) I didn't even realize my mistake seeing that the carefree part of me was already planning on how to beat Luke in a duel.

He plucked me off the ground and threw me over his shoulder while I kicked and hollered playfully. When he settled me on a free seat at the dining table occupied by an Annabeth giving me weird looks and the other two not even offering me a glance like they expected this every time we visited, an oversized grin had engraved itself on my face. I hadn't felt this way since my parents disappeared.

Almost immediately, my cheerfulness ebbed away. Seeing this, Alena hopefully placed a plate full of food in front of me. I bounced back into my blithe, hyper, nine-year-old self. Like my dad, I had believed that food solves everything.

After the early lunch, we went straight to business. Alena and Paul explained that our objective was to 'get rid' of the monster that had attacked them when they tried to approach camp and summarized the quest so far to the couple sitting across from us. I impulsively added comments that would have made me pull out my hair from embarrassment in my later years.

Aunt Blair and Uncle Matthew added their part of the story from the mortal's point of view. The monster has been rampaging across the U.S. while we were underground. It was seen as a psychopath killer responsible for eleven deaths and giving the police a wild goose chase. The last it has been heard of, it was heading this way which meant it was tracking us.

My skin crawled involuntarily, and I absentmindedly scooted closer to Paul. This quest wasn't turning out what I thought I would be. Mom and Dad made it sound so cool, so why was it becoming so… horrible. For the first time, I began to imagine the possibilities of what the awful monsters looked like.

Aunt Blair, being a mortal, wanted me to stay here with them, and although I wouldn't show it, I agreed with her. I wasn't even in fourth grade, and I might die on this quest! Unfortunately, it's not that easy dumping a quest all over the floor without regretting it later on. Aunt Blair just didn't understand the complex lives demigods go through.

The guys stayed out of it, though, so it was up to Alena. A tiny part of me started to compare her with Mom. They both looked the same when Mom was eighteen. Both of them have that streak of grey in their hair, the same voice, same determination, etc.

Frustrated, I excused myself to my room and immediately flung myself on my bed. Why does life have to be so complicated? Out of the corner of my right eye that wasn't buried in the pillow, I saw a flicker of movement outside my window. Instinctively, I moved to the left.

Glass broke, and an arrow embedded itself into the door with a sudden thud. One glance out of the window told me everything.

The crazy and irrational part of me that no doubt came from Dad allowed me to smirk. A short, dark monster standing on the backyard smirked back at me.

It's payback time.

* * *

_**Yay! I finally finished this! You guy have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter this past month. My editor, Jydaria, said I'm killing you guys. That's not true is it? **_

_**Oh, and just an FYI, Silena feels older because the effect of the Fountain on her had faded. Guess what Fountain I'm talking about.**_

_**Anyway, I read a review and I just wanted to make this clear. (Warning: it contains math.) Ok, let's say Annabeth and Percy survived their death at age 18 (the age they actually died. They did die people, but this is a big if). Thirteen years later Luke - since he's older - is 10 and both Annabeth and Percy are 31 (= 18 + 13). By now you guys know that Luke and Silena are Annabeth's and Percy's children so subtract 31 with 10 to get the age of when the couple had their first child (21). I originally planned to make them 23 when Luke was born - I find 21 a bit too young for someone like Annabeth - but it was late and I did the math wrong. So much for my math skills.**_

_**Long story short Annabeth and Percy had to be 21 in order to have Luke. How? Well... [spoilers] I've added a loophole - an actual loophole - in the story. You guys know that Nico found a letter from Percy**** after **** he died, so how in the world do you think Percy of all people can predict the unpredictable? (I'll give you a hint. He didn't predict it.)**_

_** If you have no idea what the heck I just said for the last 3 - 4 paragraphs just forget it OR guess, infer, predict! You'll never figure out the whole story if you don't. I never liked to tell everything straight out. Plus I like to hear what you think will happen. **_***sigh***_** I'm glad that's over with.**_

_**Now for some better and less confusing news: I'll be able to write more since the end of the year is coming. Yay!**_

_**As always, review and comment.**_

_**~Sepharim**_


	19. Chapter 18

**ALENA'S POV**

We all heard the gunshot and rushed to the backyard. Silena and the monster locked in a sword fight. Off to the side was Mark's gun. Immediately, Percy and I ran to help Silena while Matthew and Blair ran inside.

The moment I saw the monster's face I had a flash back. It's not like one of those over dramatic ones they show on TV, but it's still took me in surprise. I remembered the blood on my hands and on Percy and the pain of every breath. He aimed at Percy and let it fly. Then he aimed at me. Soon, I was… floating.

'This is not time for daydreams,' I shouted to myself in my head. Great. Now I'm talking to myself like an idiot. Shaking myself free from anymore thoughts, I grabbed the nearest thing at could be a weapon and attacked the monster. A broken handle of a pool skimmer pole (or whatever it's called) doesn't look very heroic but it's all I had since Silena took Riptide and Percy took _my knife_. I'll kill him after I kill the monster.

Percy and Silena had it backed up against the fence but couldn't touch it even with my help. If anyone of us stabbed, sliced, or chopped, the monster would simply block it as easily as Percy could eat all of his mother's cookies. It wasn't even bothering to take the offense, just defense; it wasn't trying to win.

It annoyed the heck out of me, and I felt my blood rise. Some part of me decided that I was being made fun of, and maybe it was right. Quickly, I thought of a plan. I ordered Percy and Silena to get some of the pool water to make a spherical – or circular for Percy's sake – cage around the monster while I distracted it. The monster was smarter, stronger, and quicker than I had expected and that almost cost me my life, but soon it was surrounded by gallons of pool water.

Looking back, I would like to say that my plan worked, we killed the monster that day, and went back to camp victorious. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

He just walked out, _walked out._ And the water hamster ball didn't do anything to stop it.

Gleefully giving us a view of his rotten yellow teeth, it paused, looking at us, probably wondering who it should kill first.

And I hoped it was me. My hand screamed from holding the metal pole so hard, every muscle in my body ached, and every part of me was overheated by the noon sun. Not even the Giant War was so draining. As much as hated the fact, he was winning. I knew that one day I might die in battle, and I intended to go down fighting. Silena was too young, and Percy had already been gone once. One picture of a blooded, glassy-eyed Percy was enough to make me feel terrified and light-headed for days given the chance; two engrained into my brain might make me faint right on the spot.

I glared at the monster. I was ready.

_Click._ The monster's head shot up sharply, eyes wide. If I hadn't known better, I'd say it looked scared.

Percy aimed with shaking hands the gun at it. It was the first time in human history that Percy pointed a gun at something. Silena grinned from ear to ear.

I prayed to all of the gods and goddesses I knew that the monster didn't know how accurately Percy could shoot anything – like an arrow – which was basically not at all.

Luckily, it wasn't interested in Percy; it was interested in the gun. Its eye fixed on the weapon cautiously as Percy slowly walked to where I was standing. Silena had gone inside to get Matty.

"Does it have celestial bronze bullets?" I whispered.

"I don't know. Ask Uncle Mark," he replied. His hands started to shake uncontrollably. The monster didn't move a muscle except his head to stare at the gun.

'We're doomed,' I thought.

"Should I shoot to find out?" he asked.

"No! Don't kill it." Seeing his confused look, I added, "At least, not yet. I'll explain later. Just capture it."

What we needed was something to tie the monster up so it couldn't get away, and Matty got us some rope made of celestial bronze and something with a huge scientific name that even I couldn't understand. In a matter of minutes, it somewhat resembled a cocoon on a stick.

By now, everyone was sweating like crazy. Nobody wanted to stay outside with the monster, but nobody would even think about letting it inside. I don't know what made Matthew move to Texas in the first place.

Finally, we decided to bring it inside. Rather than face his wife right away, Matthew the Coward ran inside and suggested she take Silena shopping so she'll have a little normalcy in her young life. She shot Matty a suspicious look before stepping out of the house with Jo and a reluctant Silena. (She wouldn't go unless Blair pinky promised to not to overdo it.)

Sighing, he plopped down on the couch with me and Percy eyeing the monster sitting across the room warily.

"So… Do you guys mind telling me what the heck is going on?"

I looked at Percy who shrugged. "You're better at explaining things," he quipped. I explained how why we were here. Matthew listened with some interested but kept glancing at the monster who was still staring at the gun resting on my lap.

"Well, I'm glad you caught it after so many years of searching. I think I should get working on some bullets for that gun of yours. Do you mind?" After receiving an answer from both of us, he ran upstairs to the attic where his lab was. Like father like son.

"What did he mean by after so many years?" I asked, turning to Percy.

He just shrugged. "I don't know. You're the genius here." Despite my bone-weary muscles' protests, I gave him an affectionate shove. He leaned back on the couch and plopped his feet on the coffee table please with himself. After careful consideration, I copied his actions. Just when I got comfortable, he spoke up. "So how do you think we're going to get to California, home of the beach girls?"

Immediately, I shot up and sent him a glare. "I resent that comment. And what makes you think that we'll have to go to California? We caught the monster. Now let's go back to camp. I'm sure we'll find out how to get rid of it there. If not, we'll just leave it there and find out how, then come back." I whispered the last part and glanced at the monster to see if it was paying us any attention. It wasn't.

Sensing my uneasiness, Percy rolled his eyes and stood up to drag the monster into the nearest closet. It didn't struggle at bit. "Better?"

"We were supposed to keep an eye on it! What happens if it escapes?" I frowned at him as he took his seat again.

"You're too paranoid." He felt around the couch for the TV remote unsuccessfully and added, "And we _have_ to go to California. I promised her we will."

"Promised who?"

"Silena. We have to find her parents."

"Why would you make such an empty promise?" I hissed. "How do we even know they're alive?"

"That's why we're looking for them. Look Annabeth, I know don't like it, but what about Silena? Do you really want her to hate her parents for leaving her and us for lying to her?"

"But you're the one who would be lying to her!" Although I hated to admit it, Percy did have a point.

We argued for another half an hour. Somehow, Luke (C.) wove his way into the conversation. Blair and Silena found us both red-faced, sitting as far apart as we could from each other on the couch, and staring at the TV murderously.

Dinner was a bit awkward, but thankfully, no one noticed the tension between me and Percy… I think.

Around midnight, I decided to sneak downstairs. I've been tossing and turning all night wondering what we'll do now that we caught the monster. A daughter of Athena always has a plan, but I had to talk to Percy first. The last time I made a plan without him knowing – well, let's just say it was not pretty.

As suspected, Percy was keeping an eye on the monster. We had tied it outside. Unfortunately, he was also giving the TV a generous amount of his attention. I rolled my eyes and sat down quietly next to him.

"Hey, Perce." He didn't stop staring at the stupid machine, although I suspected that he wasn't paying any attention to what was on.

"Hey."

I grabbed the remote from his hands, turned it off, and then uttered the four words that almost everyone despises. "We need to talk."

"What's there to talk about?"

I could almost hit him on the head out of frustration. "We need to talk about what we're going to do now."

"We have to go to California. End of story."

The gears in my head started to turn. There was no way I was going to go anywhere with the monster except back to camp or to New Rome. Whichever one was nearer and safer. Then again, I'd hate to disappoint Silena… "Fine. Only if we get the monster to camp."

'Let's see him get out of this', I thought smugly.

A smile broke out on his face. "Deal." We shook on it. Then he pulled me into a hug with my head resting on his shoulder.

"And how are you going to get the monster back to camp?" I taunted sleepily. His comfortable arms were making me drowsy, and I was pretty sure it was past midnight by now.

He chuckled softly. "I'll think of something. I always do. And while we're here, do you mind explaining why I couldn't kill the monster?"

"I'll tell you in the morning," I yawned, drifting to sleep.

" 'Night Annabeth," he murmured and kissed me on the forehead.

* * *

**_Well, that was awkward. One of the reasons it took me so long to finish writing this is because for some reason, I've been a bit... out of character lately. So forgive_****_ me?_**

**__****_Oh, and to one commenter who guess on what happened (I didn't want to pm you because I didn't want to take the chance of contacting the wrong person even though I'm 99.99% sure I've got the right account. I'm pretty sure you know who you are.), you made perfect sense to me. You're actually the closest, but you've got some of the events out of order (depending on which perspective you're looking from) and one flipped-flopped. Qustion: when you're reborn, doesn't that mean you're born again starting from age 0?_**

**__****_And to everyone else, don't worry if you have no idea how Silena and Luke were born. It'll make sense in the end, but if it doesn't feel free to leave a review or pm me._**

**_Anyways, I hoped you all liked it, and review and comment._**

**_~Sepharim_**


	20. Chapter 19

**PAUL'S POV**

_(Matthew Chase's house – Texas)_

Someone poked me on the cheek. Irritated, I waved the hand away and hugged my warm pillow tighter. My back and neck ached a little but who cared? I've felt worse, and I was dead tired (no pun intended).

No one was going to get me out of bed except myself. Then again, I was already out of bed and on the couch. I guess I fell asleep while I was watch duty. Oops. Oh well. I hoped the monster didn't do anything.

Again, the hand poked me. "Go away," I groaned. "Five more minutes."

"Humph. Fine. I'll make my own breakfast, but don't blame me if the house burns down," the so-called poke monster answered. "How does his mom deal with him?" she grumbled, walking away. I recognized the voice as Silena, but I could have cared less right now.

Relieved that I wasn't going to be interrupted anymore, I buried my nose into the pillow. Surprisingly, it was a bit hard yet soft at the same time. As a bonus, it also smelled pretty nice.

The pillow shifted a bit and groaned. I finally noticed that it was moving slightly the whole time and that it was warm – very warm. The last time I checked, pillows did not move on their own and are not that warm.

Bewildered, I opened my eyes to see a bunch of yellow hair.

"AAAHHHH!" Out of instinct, I pushed whatever it was away from me.

"Oomph!" _Thump._

The next thing I knew, I was staring down at a furious Annabeth. She had narrowly missed hitting the coffee table and now was sprawled on the floor glaring up at me.

I couldn't help but laugh hysterically, and knowing Annabeth, I might as well be asking for a death wish. Hopefully though, she was feeling more like Alena than Annabeth seeing that Alena was less violent, but then again, I'm pretty sure Annabeth can't live without me… I think.

"Who are you laughing at?" She sent me her death glare but the corner of her lip slightly turned upward betrayed her. "Let's just get some breakfast."

That was good enough for me. Luckily when we went into the kitchen, Silena didn't set anything on fire, but she almost did. I got a hit on the head from Annabeth for letting her try to cook her own pancakes.

Matthew and Blair came downstairs, and we all had breakfast. Once Blair went to work, Matthew turned back to us. "You have to get rid of that monster. It's worrying her to pieces. Can't you just kill it and get it over with?"

"Don't worry Matthew. We'll be going later today –" Annabeth reassured him.

"We are? How come I didn't know? Why do I have to be in the dark?" Silena scowled and if looks could kill, then what's left of her pancakes would dead times three.

"We're telling you now aren't we?" Annabeth shot back. "Anyway, we can't kill it, because if we did, then it would release a disease, and we don't need another Black Death or polio outbreak."

Matthew held his hands us. "Wait a minute, sis. Why would it? Don't monsters usually turn into dust or something or am I just getting old?"

"Yeah, they do, but this monster wasn't always a monster. Before it was one, it was a demigod."

My brain went dead at this. So if this monster used to be a demigod could I turn into monster too when I die my second time?

"According to the scrolls in that underground kingdom, the demigod has to be a descendant of Hades, Nemesis, and Nyx and killed by a Nosoi, a spirit of disease, during a new moon. It's really, really rare for this type of monster to appear, but apparently," she said gesturing to the backyard where the monster was still tied, "it's not impossible.

"We'll bring it to camp to for it to be studied and to find a way to destroy it without having a huge outbreak."

"What about my parents? We're going to look for them aren't we?" Silena looked like she was going to burst. "Paul promised." She turned to me and was relieved when I gave her a little nod.

"Annabeth and I agreed to send the monster back to camp while we go to California," I explained.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold a second. How could your parents be missing?" Matthew looked genuinely confused and turned form Silena to us and back to Silena.

"Silena's parents disappeared about a day before we learned about the gods and went to camp."

Matthew now looked even more confused. "But you're right here!"

"They're not my parents!" Silena hissed.

Now it was my turn to be confused. What was he talking about? I turned to Annabeth for help, but she refused look at me at all and her face seemed like it couldn't decide if it wanted to turn bright red or void of all color. Finally, it decided on the red.

"Ok, what's going on here?" All of this thinking was getting me frustrated.

Instead of answering me, Annabeth said to Silena, "You're last name is Jackson right?"

She nodded, suspicious all over again.

"And two of your grandparents are Poseidon and Athena?"

"Yes," Silena answered slowly.

By now I thought I know where Annabeth was getting with this, and it scared me to the Underworld. Matthew was still confused, and Annabeth seemed to be slightly shaking.

"Are… are your parents Percy Jackson and… and Annabeth Chase?"

"Of course! Who else?" She glared at Annabeth and me. "I don't know what you're playing at, but you two can't be my parents! And I don't care how much you guys look like them or how much you act like them. You'll never convince me otherwise!" Silena crossed her arms and had an expression on her face that somewhat resembled a grumpy badger.

_ (A hotel in Texas not far from Matthew's house)_

"This is absolutely frustrating! We shouldn't just be sitting here doing nothing." I continued to pace around the room.

"Well there's nothing we could do. Believe me, I don't like it either, but we have to let ourselves solve it by ourselves." Annabeth took another bite of whatever it was she ordered from food service. "Mm… Stop worrying and have a bite of this."

"I'm not worried about us. We could take care of ourselves just fine. I'm worried about Silena. Knowing her, she'll freak." I thrust my hands into my pockets. "Are you sure you don't remember how she reacted?"

Annabeth sighed and placed her fork down to give me her full attention. "I told you about a million times, I don't remember anything! You're the one with the memories. Trust the Fates to give it all to the Seaweed Brain," she muttered.

I sat down on the bed, putting my head in my hands. Not even the Second Titan War or the Giant War seemed as threatening. Now that my only and youngest daughter was in the direct line of fire, she could easily… go, and I couldn't do anything about it. I never felt so hopeless.

Seeing my distress, Annabeth got up and hugged me.

"It's going to be fine. You'll see. She's half of the greatest demigod I have ever met. I know it's your job to be the relaxed and optimistic one here but seeing that your fatherly instincts are kicking in I guess it's up to me. You know what? I can't believe I'm saying this but just stop thinking." And with that Annabeth pushed me to a chair. "Now start eating, Captain. How would all of your fans back at camp react if their leader suddenly turns into a stick?"

Suddenly, the food started to look pretty good.

* * *

**_I've decided to keep the Paul's and Alena's Pov since it would be too confusing to me._**

**_This chapter was supposed to be on by the Fourth of July, but I couldn't make it so... Happy Late Fourth of July! And for all of you guys who don't celebrate it, Happy Late 185th day of the year! To my part time editor, Happy Late Fifth of July! ;)_**

**_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and that it wasn't so confusing as my other chapters are. Comment and review, please! Also, if you didn't know already, constructive criticism is welcomed._**

**_~Sepharim_**


	21. Chapter 20

**(OLDER) PERCY'S POV **(cont.)

Who knew our undercover secret mission would be blown by my newest sister-in-law? Around noon, Annabeth and I bumped into Blair – literally. But this time, we _weren't _trying to track the little quest group (Silena and – well, us). We were just going on a fully deserved date at a restaurant.

Quickly, I racked my brain for a reasonable explanation for being here, thankful I had already eaten. (I could never think on an empty stomach.) For all my sister-in-law knew, we were still at her house. Or at least that's what she thinks. Then again, they _were_ us… only younger. Man, this was confusing.

"Hi, Blair," Annabeth managed to stammer out. "Fancy seeing you here, right? I can explain everything." She squeezed me hand tightly out of nervousness.

Without a word Blair dragged us to her car and drove us to the Chase's house. No one spoke the entire trip, and the tension was suffocating.

The moment Matthew saw us his jaw dropped, and couldn't utter a word out until Silena caught sight of us and tackled both of us, talking a mile a minute.

"Mom! Dad! I knew you guys would come back. Guess what? I'm on my very first quest, and we already caught the monster. It's in the back yard right now. Oh, and," she whispered into our ears. "There's two other people in the group, and they claimed that they're you two."

Hm… so we already told her. Now for the tough part: to convince her that it's true. I wished I could remember everything so that I could prepare of this.

"I thought you two were upstairs," Matthew said, and I just shrugged.

At that moment our younger selves ran downstairs, and all Hades broke loose. I scarcely remembered what happened but I did remember that the younger Annabeth didn't faint; the younger me did.

After we revived my younger self I found myself sitting on the couch with everyone hanging to every word Annabeth and I said. We quickly established that our younger selves would be referred to Alena and Paul while we were Annabeth and Percy. It would be way too confusing otherwise.

With a little help from my interjections, Annabeth explained that we were Silena and Luke's parents, but we were also Alena and Paul at one point. Right after both of us died (-the original Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase as in the ones on their first lives-), we came back as Alena and Paul. Of course, both of us went on a quest with our future daughter, and etc. We skipped the part of _how_ we went thirteen years back in time, but we did tell them that we did. And by going by the names of our first lives, it would seem like Annabeth and Percy escaped Death again, never really died. After that, we lived our lives for thirteen years, and _ta-da. _Here we are, telling our younger selves our story. My wife was especially careful to not tell them that I couldn't remember some parts of our second life and that she could barely remember anything although, technically, we're still on our second life.

Silena, who was sitting on my lap, stared at me with wide, intelligent, and innocent eyes that were so much like her mother's even with the green color. Alena and Paul were stunned. My younger self looked like he was part ghost, and I could almost see the gears turning in Alena's head.

Did she really look that pretty back then? 'Snap out of it, Jackson,' I thought.

"So they were telling the truth when they said they were you two?" Although Silena coated her quiet voice with as much innocence as she could, I could still hear the bitterness behind it. One of these days, her pride would get the best of her.

"Yes, sweetie. Now apologize to them," I said. My daughter stared at me in shock, and my wife glared at me.

"But _Dad,_" she wined. I gave her the 'don't-mess-with-me' look that I _just _discovered I could do.

"I'm sorry for not believing you," she muttered. Alena and Paul nodded absentmindedly, still deep in thought. Matthew and Blair watched the scene fold out in front of them, not bothering to comment, just observe.

As for Annabeth, she frowned disapprovingly at me, and for a moment, I could almost imagine what she was thinking in that genius brain of hers. Her stormy grey eyes said it all. _That was unnecessary, Percy._

* * *

For the rest of the day Paul and Alena stayed as far away from each other as possible and only speaking when it was absolutely necessary. Matthew and Blair went about their everyday business, and Silena, although a bit mad at me, stayed at our side constantly.

After dinner, we all decided to travel to California that night, despite protests from Alena. The monster could only be destroyed there. The sooner, the better. "And," I added, "Annabeth has had thirteen years' worth of research to find that information. It's not fair to delay it any further." No one had questioned how we were going to get there.

Everyone -except for the Chase family, who already said their goodbyes- stood in the backyard half-an-hour later waiting for our ride with backpacks stocked with ambrosia, nectar, and an extra pair of clothes, and the monster was still tied tightly and at gun point. The day had faded to a starless night by then.

Steam started to flow quietly into the yard, and soon, a dark steam engine rolled into a stop in front of us. The words 'The Ghost Train' painted in gold letters in the language of the dead glowed on the sides of the train. As usual, there were no windows on the cars.

A man jumped out and walked slowly to us. "Hello, again," said the conductor.

Silena stiffened next to Annabeth, and Alena and Paul gasped. "You again!"

"I believe my name is Mr. White, you filthy, bloody git unless your brain capacity's too small to store all of that information," the skeleton growled and then added to me, "No offense to you, sir."

Once Mr. White had ushered all of us into a car, he announced that we would be stopping at California by before dawn. The rest of the late-night ride was uneventful and boring. Alena and Paul still refused to look at each other, Silena had finally gotten tired of our company, the monster made no move to do anything of any sorts, and Annabeth had fallen asleep.

That left me with only my thoughts. What would happen if Uncle Mark found out? How would he react? What would happen now? I didn't remember anything about an older me approaching me although I knew the Fates had deleted some of my memories. Still, I worried. What happened if I messed up the time line?

That led me to my next thought: what if I had caused Paul and Alena to hate each other? I promptly banished that thought. There's no way that could happen, right? Annabeth and I were happily married, and sooner or later, Paul and Alena would forget it.

All of the questions and anxiety started to get the best of me; Annabeth was the one who handled the stress better.

I blinked slowly, trying to stay awake. Just before I fell asleep though, another thought drifted its way into my head. How would Alena and Paul react when they knew we were going to the Underworld?

* * *

**_Gah! I can't escape the cliffhangers! My editor's convinced that I'm trying to drive all of you guys mad. ^-^"_**

**_Since this is the twentieth chapter, I guess this would be a good time to say a well earned and long overdue thank you. I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for all of your support. So... THANK YOU, GRACIAS, MERCI, CÁM ƠN, __Благодарю, σας ευχαριστώ, bene facis, and all the rest!_**

**_And for all of you guys that still don't know how it's possible for Silena and Luke to exist (since there's a reason why I'm not cut-out to be a professor) I'd made a time-line of Annabeth's life. I like her better so I'm doing her, but Percy's would almost be identical if I were to do his._**

**_1) Death; 2) Rebirth as Alena C.; 3) Discovery of the gods, the quest, etc.; 4) Finish the quest (13 years after her second birth); 5) Somehow went back 13 years in time with Percy/Paul [You don't really think I'm going to tell you before you're supposed to know do you?]; 6) lived her life for another 13 years (includes college, marriage, etc.); 6.5) Re-meets with their younger selves._**

**_See? I'm not crazy! XD_**

**_Anyway, thank so much for reading, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Review and comment!_**

**_~Sepharim_**


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